Finally
by letitrainletitsnowdontletmego
Summary: 9 times Jay tries to win Voight over (intentionally and not-so-intentionally) and the 1 time he doesn't need to.
1. Wisconsin

**Huge thanks to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing. It would not exist without her. You are awesome! :)**

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"There's fishing, hiking trails, and the town nearby has this café that does, hands down, _the best_ Sunday roast ever," Jay listed enthusiastically, getting more and more excited as he recalled what Wisconsin was like in the summer. Voight simply raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair and watching him without a single, minuscule facial expression.

He was standing in front of his boss' desk, having handed over the last of his paperwork before he and Erin headed off for a long weekend away. Somewhere between stating his desk was finally cleared of work and Voight half-heartedly telling him to enjoy Wisconsin, he had come explain exactly what he loved about his grandfather's cabin and somehow came to the realisation that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if Voight came along too.

He blamed it on being overworked. Definitely not on wanting to impress him, because how lame would that be? A grown man, ex-army Ranger at that too, trying to win over his girlfriend's father figure. Jay was definitely not that kind of guy. Except, he knew he really was.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'll pass," Voight turned down dryly, not that it deterred Jay.

"The weather is perfect this time of the year too. The cabin is right at the edge of the water so it helps ease off the heat with some breeze. Not too hot, not too cold-" he carried on, only to be interrupted by Erin as she entered the office with a small scoff.

"-but perfect for mosquitos, which are the size of eagles by the way, to attack," she pointed out, stopping next to him with a smirk.

"They're not that big," Jay retorted, crossing his arms and glaring at her over-exaggeration.

Erin turned her eyes to Voight, using her hands to visually express how large these mosquitoes were. "They are. Eagles. _Huge_ ," she emphasised, before carrying on with a small cringe, "Not to forget the wild animals they warn you about." Jay shot her an incredulous look, half mixed with shock, worried Voight might just stop _them_ from going away if he thought Erin might get mauled by a wild bear. "Don't look at me like that. I saw the signs last time!"

"You're really selling it, Erin, thanks." Jay rolled his eyes sulkily, only keeping himself from pouting with the knowledge that Voight wouldn't let him live it down and he was two decades too old for it.

Erin's phone ringing was the only reason Jay didn't carry on, wanting to point out that Wisconsin was a breath of fresh air in comparison to Chicago. "Why is your brother calling me?" she asked him, holding her phone out in his direction. Frowning, he patted his jeans' pockets to realise he must have left his on his desk and Will had said he'd check in before they left in case they needed anything.

"Because I don't have my phone on me. Give me a sec," he muttered, taking it from her and answering as he left for the break room.

Erin shook her head with an affectionate smile and turned to Voight when he spoke to her. "So what exactly do _you_ do out there? 'Cause the last I remember, you freak out when a bug comes anywhere near you," he stated amusedly, causing her smile to falter.

"That was one time, like 15 years ago! Let it go, _jeez_ ," she grumbled, glad Jay hadn't been around to hear that.

Sure, she had confessed almost the second she had stepped out of the car the first time they had gone up to northern Wisconsin that she wasn't a fan of bugs and creepy crawlies, but she liked to think that she had her real feelings about them under control these days. Not like when she was barely 16, running away from the summer flies during the traditional Fourth of July barbeque in the Voights backyard.

Clearing her throat, she shrugged and answered Voight's initial question. "I dunno, I just relax. Read, sleep, eat; repeat. It's kinda nice."

Voight pulled an almost disgusted face, making her laugh quietly. "It sounds boring."

Rolling her eyes, Erin shrugged again. "Yeah, well, sometimes boring is kinda nice," she admitted.

She hadn't said it out loud many times before, but there was something about just getting out of the city and it being just her and Jay that let her forget about all the crappiness her life had brought and the awful things they saw on the job. Sometimes, it was even enough to make her believe Wisconsin might be where she would end up after retirement.

Sometimes. Not that she would ever tell Jay that anytime before they were 60, though.

"Sure it is," Voight chuckled. "You're too good to him, kid."

" _Eh_ , he feeds me. It keeps me happy," she joked, turning when Jay re-entered the office and handed her phone back to her, knowing he had overheard her last comment when he smirked at her. "Ready to go?"

"Just waiting on you," he replied before turning to Voight. "Last chance."

"Not if my life depended on it, Halstead," Voight said definitively, shaking his head once.

"You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself," Jay prodded one last time.

"Jay, let's not push it. I don't think Hank knows what the outside of Chicago looks like. He needs to start small," Erin teased the both of them, though it was only her partner who looked amused by her comment.

"Get outta here before I take back your leave," Voight dismissed them. She could see the small smile playing at his mouth even as he tried to hide it. "Drive safe."

"See you next week!" she called over her shoulder as she followed Jay out of the office to grab their things and out of the building.

They had packed their bags and left it in his car that morning so they could head out straight from work. It was a long journey but it had been a quiet day, and between the two of them, they could be at the cabin in perfect time for some lazy stargazing with a couple of beers on the porch swing.

Jay got into the driver's seat silently, and it was only when they had turned onto the highway that Erin noticed the lack of usual energy in the car. Glancing over, she reached out and laid a hand on his arm to claim his attention before speaking. "Hey, what's wrong? You've been looking forward to this for weeks."

"Nothing, it's nothing," he replied, offering her a small smile which he knew she hadn't bought at all. Sighing, he rubbed his hands against the steering wheel before letting one drop to his leg, where hers soon met his. "I thought things with Voight were getting better, that's all."

"Well, he's no longer trying to break us up, so I'd say it is," she pointed out lightly. Jay nodded in agreement but didn't offer anything else. Sighing, Erin squeezed his hand and gnawed at her lip gently before deciding to confess. "Look, this might be my fault. I only said all that because I didn't want him to come along. Wisconsin is _our_ time, Jay. I have plans for us and they can't happen with Hank there. At all."

There was a brief pause of silence where she could see him absorb her words, the muscles of his hand and leg shifting slightly under her hand. He chanced a quick look over at her, the tension he had been radiating before now morphing into frustration. "You'd think he'd be more acceptable than just not trying to break us up by now."

" _That's_ what you picked up on?" Erin exclaimed, unable to help the annoyed tone that took over and snatching her hand back to whack him on the arm with the back of it. Inhaling deeply, she let out her breath slowly to calm herself down and get back on track. "It's _Hank_ , Jay. He's not gonna say anything more than he's alright with us. That's all we get, so you need to accept that and stop worrying about it."

Except for muttering a small ' _ow'_ when she hit him, Jay listened to her soft voice carefully yet still shook his head at the end. Accepting what the situation currently was seemed a hell lot like giving up, and there was no way he was going to simply give up and let Voight win. Besides, he was a traditionalist and he would bet his yearly salary that Voight was too, meaning at some point in their lives, Jay would need to know he wasn't going to get shot and/or maimed for wanting to take his relationship with Erin to the next level.

"No, I refuse to give in, Erin. I managed to win you over; I can get Voight to like me a bit more," he stated determinedly.

Erin pursed her lips. "Yeah, Hank and I are two very different people. You can't charm your way onto his good side," she pointed out, but she had a feeling he wasn't really listening to what she was saying when she saw him start to relax and nod, an easy smile curving at his lips.

"Challenge accepted," Jay simply remarked.

"That wasn't a-" she broke herself off with a simple wave of the hand, knowing any argument would now be a lost cause because when Jay Halstead got his mind on something, he would follow it through. "You know what, go ahead. You do you, babe. Just don't do anything to ruin that pretty face of yours," she told him instead, patting his cheek affectionately until he turned his head slightly to brush his lips to her palm.

"You think I'm pretty?" he asked rhetorically, taking her hand in his and resting it on his leg once again. Lacing their fingers together gently, he rubbed his thumb over hers as he recalled the second half of her statement back when she had been trying to placate him about Voight. "So, what were these plans of yours for the next few days?"

"Well, let's just say it involves barely leaving the cabin and minimal clothing," she replied, lowering her voice to add a hint more seduction to it than Jay thought was necessary when he was driving them as fast as he could down a busy highway.

Clearing his throat to get rid of the images the comment instantly brought to him, he grinned. "I knew you'd like Wisconsin."

Erin made a noncommittal sound of indifference before answering, "Maybe. I like you more, though."


	2. Dinner

**Thanks to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ once again for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing. Literally, would not exist without her :)**

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Jay wiped his hands on a tea towel when there was a knock at the door, making sure the hobs were turned off as he left the kitchen to answer it. Taking a quick look through the peephole, he opened it once he saw it was Voight on the other side.

"Hey, come in. Erin's getting cleaned up. They gave her some strong pain meds so she just woke up," he stated as he let Voight in, knowing exactly why he was there.

They had gone on a raid that afternoon, and although they had caught everyone they needed and closed the case, Erin had been struck in the head with the end of a gun as she had rounded a corner. She hadn't been knocked unconscious, but it was a head wound which meant the two of them had spent the rest of the afternoon at Med whilst Erin was being checked out.

"Why does it feel like you're always here, Halstead?" Voight asked gruffly, entering the apartment and coming to a stop on the other side of the kitchen counter to where Jay was.

"Because I live here now?" Jay replied slowly, furrowing his brow when Voight failed to reply and sending a small jolt of panic through him momentarily. There was a small, irrational part of him that worried he should grab the knife he had left on the counter when answering the door before Voight did. The rational side told him that there was no way Voight would hurt him in such an obvious place. Especially with Erin in the next room. "Wait, you _do_ know we live together now, right? It's been about 6 months, there's no way it hasn't come up."

"Oh, trust me; it's come up plenty of times," Voight finally replied dryly with a knowing smirk. Jay suspected he had only paused to mess with him.

"I know you think you're being funny, but really, it's just mean," he stated, picking up the knife to get back to work on the lasagne he had promised Erin he would make for resting as the doctors had directed.

"I wasn't trying to be funny, Jay," Voight said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the counter behind him. "How is she?"

Jay shrugged, glancing up quickly before carrying on with the job at hand. "They said to keep an eye on her in case her headache got worse or if she started to feel dizzy, but otherwise should be fine," he repeated what the ER doctor had explained to them earlier, going into more detail than the quick message he had fired off once Erin had been given the all clear to go home. "Do you want a drink?"

"I'm not staying long," Voight replied with a shake of the head.

"You should. Dinner will be done in an hour or so, and there's plenty to go around," Jay pressed, pulling a beer out of the fridge for himself and silently holding it up to Voight in question.

"Hmm." Voight's noncommittal response failed to acknowledge either his invitation for dinner or a drink, so Jay was going to grab him a drink to entice him to stay when Erin exited the bedroom and essentially thwarting his efforts for the time being.

"Hey, Hank. What's going on?" Erin greeted him lightly as she took a seat on the couch, legs curled up under her.

Voight made his way over to her, taking a seat on the other end of the couch with his back to the kitchen, where Erin caught Jay roll his eyes at their boss' softened demeanour the second she appeared. Smiling to herself, she pushed up the sleeves of the hoodie that was far too big for her but was probably the most comfortable thing she owned. Or rather, had stolen with no intention in giving back.

"Nothing. I just wanted to check up on you, see if you're alright after today," Voight told her, pointing towards the bruise on her forehead which her hair failed to hide, despite how she tried to style it.

"I'm fine. It's literally a bump. You guys need to calm down, okay? It looks worse than it is," she explicitly stated, staring Voight down until he nodded and sat back a bit, saying without any words that he believed her.

"What's this?" he asked when she pulled out a half-eaten granola bar from the pocket of her hoodie, having stuffed it in there earlier when she had been in her half-asleep state yet hungry from the medication the hospital had given her.

"A granola bar," she answered, taking a bite before seeing the incredulous look Voight was giving her. "What? It's healthy!" she defended herself, knowing dinner wasn't too far off but still too long for her to wait.

"Are you sure that bump hasn't messed with your head? Since when do you do healthy?" he questioned her seriously.

"Since Jay buys all this crap and I don't pay attention to what I grab when I'm hungry," Erin retorted, though it was the honest truth. She had been searching for a chocolate bar, or even a pack of cookies but her hand had landed on the granola bar and she had been too tired to care.

Voight sat in silence for a beat, narrowing his eyes. "Is he starving you, kid?" he asked and Erin couldn't be sure whether he was joking or not. Neither his tone nor his features gave it away, and despite knowing him for her entire adult life, she still couldn't always pinpoint when he was kidding around.

She scoffed nonetheless. "Starving me? Do I _look_ like I'm being starved?" she remarked bemusedly, shaking her head and throwing a hand out in the general direction towards where Jay was paying them no attention as he prepared them dinner.

A smile played at Voight's lips, nodding even as he added, "Just say the word and I'll-"

"What? Sneak me food like when I was 14?" Erin teased, finishing off her granola bar with one final bite.

"If I must. Can't have you passing out on me. I know what it takes to keep you running daily," Voight shot back, patting her on the knee before pushing himself onto his feet.

" _Hilarious,_ " Erin said sarcastically with a fake smile, rising to her feet too. "You staying for dinner? Jay makes a killer lasagna."

"Is that so?" he said wryly as the two of them headed towards the kitchen. "I didn't know you could cook, Halstead."

Jay turned away from the stove for a moment to shoot them both his winning smile. "I'm a man of many talents," he stated confidently.

"Evidently." Voight arched a brow with his statement, not giving a clue whether he actually meant it or whether he was teasing. Until Jay realised he had left the sauce on the heat and he was close to learning what Voight really thought if he didn't attend to it immediately. A chuckle told him Voight really was messing with him this time. "I'll see you both tomorrow, _only_ if you're better."

"I'm _fine_ ," Erin insisted once more, following Voight as he made for the door. "Sure you don't want to stay?"

"I have a perfectly good grill waiting for me at home," he informed her, giving her shoulder a squeeze before leaving with a final goodbye.

"Next time, we're having steak," Jay stated when Erin reappeared in the kitchen and sidled up to his side.

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she pulled him close and pouted slightly. "But I like your lasagne," she told him, reaching up to kiss him softly, humming contently when she felt his fingers gently brush against her jaw.

"Well, I've already won _you_ over, babe," he murmured against her lips when they broke apart, Jay pulling away reluctantly to finish up with dinner before she got him too distracted.

"Is that a fact?" Erin questioned challengingly, rolling her eyes when all she got was a smile in response. "Keep talking and you might have to start again."


	3. The Halsteads

**All the thanks to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ again for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing. You are the best! :) Plus, it's because of her I've fallen in love with Halsteadx2 + Erin as a trope :P**

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Jay hung up the phone as soon as he stepped into Molly's and spotted Erin on one of the high tables to the side of the room. The reason why she hadn't picked up was evident not a second later when he caught sight of his brother sitting opposite her, back towards the door, with her phone in his hand. There was no doubt he was teasing her about the contact picture she had for him, which he had to admit was a pretty great selfie of the two of them from years back. Almost around the time they had first gotten together, when she had left Intelligence for the special task force.

"Don't make me hurt you, Halstead," Erin warned Will, who was holding the phone away from her and slightly up higher than was probably necessary, especially in a busy bar.

Jay laughed to himself when he saw Will falter slightly at her narrowed eyes, pointing a finger towards him even though the smile she was trying to bite back failed to stay hidden. Approaching them, he snatched the phone out of his grip and punched his brother lightly in the shoulder.

"Gotta love it when those words are aimed at someone else," he commented, smiling contently when he saw Erin light up at his appearance and somewhat forgot what his brother was teasing her about.

"My hero," she drawled as he placed her phone in front of her. "Feels like I haven't seen you all day," she commented when he came to stand next to her, laying an arm around the back of her stool and pressing his lips quickly to the top of her head.

"That's because you haven't," he replied, recalling how they had been split up for the day to chase down different leads because of the CIs they each had. It hadn't been too intense, but days where they weren't paired up together definitely felt bizarre.

Erin leaned back to glance up at him, furrowing her brow playfully. "Oh? Awkward. Who was I making out with in the car this afternoon then?"

"Um, weren't you with Voight all day?" he remarked with a smirk, chuckling when he saw her grimace at the meaning behind that.

" _Ew._ Okay, I know I started it but I'm ending it now," she told him pointedly, shuddering for effect and taking a sip of her beer as if the alcohol would help her forget what she had unintentionally implied.

"Please do. You guys are sickening," Will added, having watched them banter for a moment before deciding to make his presence known once again.

"I'm going to get a drink. You want anything?" Jay asked, squeezing she shoulder and looking down at her to see her simply tap the beer bottle in a clear indication that she just wanted the same again.

"What about me?" Will asked, offended, when Jay started to leave.

Shrugging, he conceded. "Yeah, well, it's going on your tab, so I suppose so."

"Joke's on you because Erin's the one who got this round," Will retorted, clinking his bottle with Erin's, who shot Jay a sheepish look when she realised he wasn't impressed by their camaraderie.

He wished he could say it was newfound, but WIll and Erin had gotten along far too well for longer than he now realised he liked. There had been the initial hesitant friendship, made only because of the break him and Erin had been on when Will had first rolled into town. But slowly, as Will settled in Chicago, and Jay and Erin rekindled their relationship, the three spent more time hanging out together, and Erin had fit into their small easygoing family well.

Armed with three beers, Jay rejoined the table, sliding into the stool next to Erin and groaning immediately when he caught exactly what they were discussing.

"-at the hospital for _hours_. I reckon Mom only took him in to embarrass him because it wasn't even that bad of a burn. But he was in his Spiderman PJs and he'd gone against her," Will told her, laughing at the memories as Erin laughed along at the images they conjured up.

"That's _so_ cute. You wore Spiderman PJs until you were 14?" she asked through her giggles, incredulity lining her words and betraying her attempt in trying to not sound like she was mocking him.

"15," Will corrected her before Jay could get a word in edgeways to try and salvage his reputation. "He also had this Wonder Wom-"

"Alright, alright, you can stop now, Will," Jay interrupted loudly, prepared to dive across the table and slap a hand over his brother's mouth if he dared to carry on.

There was only so much damage he could fix, but he had a feeling that _this_ story would be the one that he would never be able to live down and they were far too early in their relationship for Erin to have that kind of knowledge on him. Perhaps when they were about 80 or something he'd be happier with her knowing the whole truth.

Will paused for a moment to take a swig of his beer, eyes twinkling between them both. "No, please don't! C'mon, I'll buy you another drink, as many as you want, if you'd _just_ finish that sentence," Erin bargained desperately, curling a hand as if to stop herself from physically dragging the story out of him.

"Don't fall for it. You're stronger than this," Jay countered with a shake of the head.

"I'm really not. And I don't want to be," Will shrugged with a laugh, turning to Erin and about to complete what he had been saying before he had been rudely interrupted when Jay foiled his attempts once again.

"You know, payback's a bitch, and I swear I will remember this for when you finally get it sorted with Natalie," he practically threatened, though he had the decency to lower his voice so it wouldn't carry out, possibly to other Med workers who were at the bar right then.

"You mean Nina?" Erin asked, breaking the beat of silence they had fallen into. Glancing between the two brothers, she slowly started to realise that Jay hadn't mixed up the two names, and there was definitely more going on there than she was aware of. "Wait, _Dr Manning_ , Natalie?"

"There's nothing going on there," Will quickly dismissed, staring daggers at his brother who purposely failed to acknowledge it.

"Not from a lack of trying, though," Jay added before rolling his eyes when Will simply kept staring at him, silently. "What? Don't look at me like that. At least _I_ got it sorted with my girl."

Erin slapped him gently with the back of her hand to his chest, telling him without words to lay off his brother. Jay fought the urge to roll his eyes once again, wanting to explain the many drunken times he had had to listen to Will go on and on about his colleague, and not the one he was currently living with. Wanting for Erin to tell Will exactly what he had told him; that he needed to sort his head and heart out, and stop settling for someone who he's going to ultimately hurt. Because he had a feeling that Will would listen if there were two of them telling him the same thing.

"It's… complicated. And I'd rather not talk about it right now," Will said with a hint of finality.

"You never do. That's your problem," Jay sighed before holding up his hands when Will shot him a disparaging look. "Fine. Whatever you want."

Will's eyes slid over to Erin, who shook her head at him. "I'm not getting involved until I know the full story, alright?" she told him pointedly, clearly expecting to hear the full story sometime soon. He didn't reply but Molly's entrance door swinging open caught the corner of her eye over Will's shoulder and she smiled warmly as she saw who entered. Having felt her gaze on him, he made his way over. "Hey, Hank! Come join us," she greeted as Voight stopped at the end of their table.

"Thanks, kid, but I'm meeting a friend for a drink," he turned her down gently, nodding his head over towards the bar.

"We're sharing great stories about Jay here," Will piped up in a light tone that obviously suggested that the stories were anything but 'great' to the central subject of them all.

" _We_ aren't doing anything. _You_ are, and _you're_ stopping now for the sake of my relationship and my dignity," Jay rectified him, pinning him with a glare that would have stopped anyone other than his older brother.

"Surprising you have much left," Will retorted, making Erin laugh, though she tried to cover it up soon after with a drink. Jay could have sworn he even saw Voight smirk at the remark, but it was gone sooner than he could register it. "Come have a drink with us and I'll tell you all about the time Jay got lost in the zoo; blindfolded, in the dark and half naked."

"I wonder who left me there, huh?" Jay muttered dejectedly, settling in for Will to fill Voight in with some more stories of his childhood.

"You didn't!" Erin gasped, though it was lined with clear humour.

"He deserved it, annoying little brat he was." Will practically waved them off, turning all his attention to Voight instead. "You would definitely not have him on your team if you knew him back then, Sarge. Seriously, even at 12 he thought he knew it all, trying to win over my friends 'cause he thought he was too cool for those his own age. Not that it worked, because, well, you know; it's me," he laughed haughtily, a winning handsome grin on his face which Jay could only ever recall their father not falling victim to.

"If only your brother was half as charming as you think you are, doc," Voight remarked with a shake of the head, eyeing Jay for a second longer than the other two before tapping the table and walking away.

"Huh, I thought he liked you," Will mused at his brother before turning to Erin. "You should watch his back out there a bit more carefully."

"Thanks, Will," Jay said dryly, finishing off his drink just as a hostess passed by so he could order another.

"What are you talking about? Hank likes Jay just fine. He's just being his usual self," Erin laughed off, doing the same with her drink but not missing the looks the brothers quickly shared. "Stop it. You barely even know him, Will."

"I feel like I know enough," he replied vaguely, to which Erin frowned in confusion.

Silently cursing his brother, Jay quickly made an effort to change the subject before they possibly got onto how he might have also spent a few drunken evenings with Will, worrying about Voight not liking him nor accepting his presence in Erin's personal life, despite what the two of them might say otherwise.

"Hey, did I ever tell you about the time Will streaked across our high school football pitch during Homecoming warm-up?" Jay stated, wording it as a question though all three knew he hadn't.

"I'm sorry, _what?_ " Erin exclaimed, sitting upright and ready for all the details.

"That never happened," Will refuted adamantly.

"I have pictures," Jay countered with a smile, glad to be on the storyteller side of the situation that night.

Will shook his head and pursed his lips as he tried to get a read on his little brother. "You don't. You do _not_ have pictures. I swear to God, Jay, you do not," he insisted forcefully.

"I do. They're mainly Polaroids so not the best quality, but there are tens of them. I gathered them from whoever I saw had a camera so one day, I could use it against you," Jay informed him, tilting his head slightly and accepting the drinks that appeared on their table at the perfect moment.

"And today is totally that day," Erin added, excitement lacing her words.

Will quickly finished his drink, and having not ordered a new one, rapidly got to his feet. "I'm leaving now."

"Aw, c'mon, Will. Don't be a spoilsport," Erin all but pouted, a smile ruining the effect.

"Nope. I have a shift first thing tomorrow. Besides, I don't need to hear this," Will told them honestly, although 'first thing' for him was still later than most people started on a normal workday.

Erin turned to look at Jay as Will pulled on his jacket. "You'll still show me, right?"

"Oh yeah," he assured her, though if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't quite sure where the photos had gotten to since he had moved into her place.

"I hate you," Will grumbled whilst departing, leaving the two of them laughing in his wake.

"Love you too, bro," Jay called after him, not in the slightest bit put off when he flipped him off over his shoulder before walking out of the bar. Turning to Erin, he leaned in a bit and murmured in her ear, "So, wanna get out of here?"

"Are you going to show me those pictures?" she asked him just as quietly.

"I can do you one better," he replied, arching a brow and softly brushing his knuckles over her bare arm to show her what he meant.

Grinning slowly, she bit her bottom lip and asked, "Are you going to tell me about the Wond-?"

"No," Jay sighed as leaned back out of her personal space and dropping his hand, the moment effectively killed, even as she laughed quietly at him. At least one of them was enjoying themselves.


	4. The Voights

**Thanks _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing. Your feedback was invaluable :)**

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Erin smiled as Olive excused herself for a brief nap, stating she couldn't remember the last time she had had so many people around to keep Danny entertained for long enough for her to have a break. The two of them were in town for a brief visit so the little boy was able to reconnect with his family; something Erin was glad for. Danny was their last link to Justin, and even though she understood Olive's reason to leave Chicago, she couldn't help the relief she had felt when she had heard they were coming back for a visit.

The two of them had been in the kitchen, sharing small talk over a cup of coffee whilst Danny was being entertained by Jay and Voight in the front room. Or rather the other way around, from the sounds of it. The one-and-a-half-year-old was so full of life and energy that it was amazing they had managed to keep him in one place. Erin had barely had enough time for a cuddle before he began wriggling to get down. Luckily, Voight had been prepared, having stocked up on some toys for the toddler. And that was before Erin and Jay had added the presents they had brought for the little boy.

Footsteps approaching the kitchen broke Erin out of her thoughts, standing to refill her cup with some more coffee just as Voight entered the room. Coffee at the Voights always tasted better, linked to her memories of a teenager finally finding herself a family who cared about her. She still drank it from the same mug as she had used since she was 16, living permanently in the cupboard there with its scratches, chips and faded colouring.

"Your boyfriend is hogging my grandson," he growled in frustration, making her laugh silently.

"Give him a break, Hank. Danny loves him," she replied with a shake of her head and pouring him a cup without asking. Taking both to the table, she slid back into her chair and pushed the other mug towards the seat next to her at the head of the table where Voight usually sat. "Aren't you happy that he has more and more people in his life to look out for him and guide him? A family?"

"Just because he's family at work doesn't mean he needs to be at home," he retorted even as he took the seat and the cup of coffee.

Erin rolled her eyes good-naturedly, hiding her smile behind her cup as she sipped it as she tried to bring up a topic she had meaning to do so for a little while now. It wasn't that she was scared to, but rather that she didn't want either of the men involved to feel like she was undermining them. Though she figured she knew them both well enough to know when she could put Voight in his place and when Jay's stubbornness might cause more harm than good.

"Actually, as we're on the subject, can I talk to you about something?" she began, bringing her mug down and leaning back in her chair as she watched Voight eye her. A muscle ticked in his jaw which was telling enough for her to know that he was already wound up, though she truly had no idea why.

"Don't tell me Halstead knocked you up 'cause I can forgo the gun for him," he informed her, voice rough and low, yet still catching her off guard.

"Wow, okay, _no_. Very much not pregnant, thanks," Erin quickly corrected him, making sure her words were sharp enough to indicate that would be the end of that conversation until she mentioned it herself one day. "Also, never bring that up ever again. In case you've missed the past 15 odd years, I'm an adult now. You don't need to threaten my boyfriends anymore," she said, repeating what she had told him a few years previously when she and Jay had just started working together.

"You think I wouldn't hurt him if he hurt you?" he asked incredulous, almost as if her believing anything _but_ that would be absolutely insane.

"I think I'd get there first," she answered, raising a brow challengingly. Voight smirked at her remark and nodded concededly. "Yeah, don't look so proud. But as I was saying; can you please lay off Jay a bit? I know you're _still_ getting used to it but he's trying to actually be a part of this family, _my_ family, like his have accepted me. But you're not really making it easy."

Voight shrugged carelessly, causing Erin to grit her teeth in annoyance at his lack of response. "What does it matter what I do? Clearly, what I think doesn't matter much to either one of you," he muttered, staring her down.

Sighing, she forced herself to relax and to keep her voice low, lest it carried down to the front room and alerted Jay. The sounds of a babbling toddler were punctuated by Jay's quiet murmurings, so she knew his attention was mostly with Danny, and the last thing she wanted to do was to ruin their day off, relaxing as a family, dysfunctional as it was.

"That's low, Hank," she finally said, quiet but meaningful. "In his defence, he wanted to tell you. It was _me_ that didn't. He never wanted to sneak around your back. Would rather take what you dished out than to risk losing your respect."

"Had a funny way of showing it," Voight retorted dryly over the rim of his coffee cup.

"You're not exactly the warm and fuzzy type," she shot back before softly adding, "He's trying to earn your respect and friendship here. But if you keep knocking him down, you're gonna lose a lot more than just face. Because I know that's the only reason why you haven't given in and accepted him yet."

Voight scoffed but didn't refute her words and Erin took it as a win. That she was right in her observations and, for once, she had gotten through to him about her and Jay, and how he would eventually drive _her_ away if he kept it up. "He's not as charming as he thinks he is,"

"Yeah, he is. And you know it," she laughed, curling her hands around the coffee mug, thumb swiping gently against the middle where her name was proudly displayed before having a drink.

The cup had been a present from Camille, not that the woman would allow it to be called as such, and the first brand new thing Erin remembered ever owning that was solely hers. Camille had seen it in the mall one day, not long after Erin had moved in with them, and bought it as it reminded her of their new foster daughter. Erin had been shocked by the gesture, accepting it with a snarky remark about not needed a mug to remind her of her name.

Voight had reprimanded her immediately, telling her to either apologise and thank Camille, or to never expect another gift again. Erin had stared him down for a moment until Camille had said it wasn't a present, just a necessity considering her love of coffee. Her earnest remark had made her feel guilty for her attitude and she had apologised and thanked her for the mug, making it a point to use it almost every day.

"Camille would kick your ass if she was here, you know that?" she stated, glancing up at Voight with a sorrowful smile.

"I have no doubts about that," he agreed immediately.

They fell into a small beat of silence, the sound of Danny's giggling and squealing interrupting the quiet every few seconds, joined by Jay's hushed words and a chuckle here and there. It was an odd thought, sitting in the house she had grown up with her father figure whilst her partner and boyfriend played with her nephew in the front room. It definitely wasn't an image she had ever thought would become a reality, especially not when she had first stepped into the house; 15, a junkie and a lot more worse for wear. That was before Voight and Camille's help, before she understood how families really worked and what love really looked like.

"She'd love him, right? Jay?" Erin asked suddenly and hesitantly, leaning forward onto the table and fiddling with the cup as she kept her eyes tracked on it, ensuring none of its contents spilt over the top. "I keep thinking about all those boys in high school, and the couple from the academy, and how she always use to tell me I could do better when we broke up. That I shouldn't worry about them, just be happy and things will fall into place when I least expected them to. That the perfect person was out there, and I would find them at some point. All that typical, cheesy, mom stuff." Smiling at the memory, she looked back up at Voight to see a somewhat similar look on his features too. "But with Jay, I dunno. She'd love him, I reckon. I just wish she could have met him. He would have won her over in a heartbeat. Probably love him more than the two of us."

"She'd love him if you did. All she ever wanted was for you to be happy," he replied earnestly, reaching out to lay a hand on her arm for a brief moment in a show of their solidarity in the grief that still lingered with every memory of Camille.

"I am. He's… everything. Everything she said he would be," she mused, a slow smile curving at her lips as she thought about everything Camille had promised she would find one day and how Jay was slowly ticking each and every one of those boxes. A grimace passed over Voight's features, quick and fleeting that she could have made it up if the way he purposely kept his mouth shut wasn't indication enough. "What?"

"I didn't say anything," he told her innocently.

" _Ugh_ , how did she even put up with you? You're hopeless, you know that? Two years and you still can't even handle me talking about our relationship," Erin grumbled slightly petulantly, downing the rest of her coffee and pushing her chair back to get to her feet. "I'm going to go hang out with Jay and Danny. I'll probably get a more stimulating conversation out of them than you."

Voight's laugh followed her out of the room, replacing her annoyance with carefree fondness at the sound of it. Approaching the living room, Erin paused in the doorway for a moment, watching as Jay held Danny steadily on his lap with one arm whilst the other handed him the soft building blocks they were playing with. Coloured blocks littered the floor around them, and she could see Danny trying to stand each time Jay handed him a new one. But his light grip on him kept him sitting and she reckoned he had a reason for it.

The kid had attached himself to Jay almost as soon as they had arrived earlier that day. Voight had handed him over to Erin when she had asked for him, though that had only lasted a minute before Danny had turned his attention to the gifts they had bought. The fact that Jay was carrying them probably helped him get into the toddler's good books, who had barely let him go ever since. For almost three hours now.

Not that she was complaining, because seeing Jay playing with her nephew was rather adorable. She just sort of felt left out, and, if she admitted it to herself, a bit jealous.

Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts away and entered the room. "What's going on here?" she asked, running her fingers through the hair at Jay's nape as she passed him and took a seat on the floor adjacent to him after clearing away the blocks with her feet.

"We are building a tower, aren't we, buddy?" Jay replied, handing Danny another block to add to the stack they were building. The boy took it happily, sticking it on top of the middle tower. Jay looked over at Erin with an easy smile and shrugged. "Or a rocket. I don't really know."

"Well, it looks great either way," she replied, tickling Danny when he looked over at her. He laughed adorably, holding his hands out towards her as she picked up a block. "Here you go, how about this one?"

"Over here," Jay directed once Danny took the toy, holding it for a moment as he stared at the piles in front of him. At Jay's prompting, he placed it right where he was told with ease even as he craned his head up to glance at him for affirmation. "Good boy. Looking awesome."

"You're good with kids," Erin stated after the same thing happened a couple more times, watching how Danny waited for Jay's encouragement and praise whenever he acted after being prompted. It might have been one of the most cutest things she had ever seen, and if she had her head on right, she might have videoed it. Instead, she just basked in the moment.

"I think it's the kid that's good with me," Jay laughed, hoisting Danny up to his feet, and in one smooth move, turning him to face him. "Hey, you want to go to Aunty Erin? There you go. Now you can jump on her all you like," he said cheekily, swinging the giggling boy over to Erin, and it was only thanks to her quick reflexes that she caught him in time.

"Oh, it's like that, is it?" she asked in amusement, watching as Danny began bouncing on her the second his feet landed on her thighs. It suddenly made sense why Jay had him sitting him and held there. The kid was small but he had a lot of energy, which all translated into a lot of forceful jumping.

Jay immediately stretched out his legs, loosening up his muscles from being sat in the same position for far too long. Leaning back on his hands, he tilted his head towards her and asked in forced casualness, "So, your _dad_ looked like he was ready to go get the shotgun when he left the room. Should I be worried?"

"Nah, I managed to talk him down to a Glock," Erin taunted, glancing up at him from under her lashes as she played with Danny on her lap, holding onto his hands as he leaned back away from and she kept jerking him back to her chest, leading to him giggling endlessly each and every time.

"Erin…" he warned, unimpressed by her teasing and huffing when she merely smiled back.

"Aw, look at your Uncle Jay. He looks so worried, as if your Grandad would ever hurt him around his precious baby," she cooed softly, laughing as Danny laughed too, though they both knew he couldn't understand a word she had told him.

"Just to be clear; is the 'precious baby' Danny, or _you?_ " Jay asked, pulling back and sitting up when she threw a block at his head. " _Ow!_ Don't teach the kid violence, Erin! His genes have that taken care of."

"I can hear you, you know, Halstead," Voight's voice suddenly came from the kitchen, catching them both off guard. Whereas Erin laughed, Jay looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Nodding, he lowered his voice so he was certain Voight couldn't hear him as he told her his new plan to keep the other man from potentially shooting him. "Right, so this kid is coming with us. Maybe even staying with us indefinitely. I'm sure we could make space for Olive, too."


	5. Undercover

**As always, big thanks to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing. Without it, I would not have written this!**

* * *

It was nearing 2am but Jay couldn't have felt more awake or alert if he tried. The case was coming to a head that night, with Erin and Burgess being sent undercover in a standard nightclub to get the last piece of evidence they needed before the rest of Intelligence could swoop in and arrest them all.

That was until things took a turn for the worse, which somehow always seemed to happen when he wasn't there to backup his partner. When he was stuck outside, across the road and with only an earpiece connecting them. Though they had been made, the perpetrator who was now holding Erin and Burgess in a room lined with explosives had not searched them further than their weapons. It was a small blessing, but a blessing nonetheless.

"Alright," Voight began, claiming all their attentions as he slapped down the blueprints for the club onto the front of their surveillance van where they were all gathered. "Only way in is through the door they've got loaded up with C4, detonator attached. Both Burgess and Lindsay are unarmed, and it sounds like Burgess is injured. Perp has a gun trained on the C4; the smallest of grazes and it'll level the entire building. They have no room to move in there, so it's up to us."

Jay studied the blueprints, trying to visualise the commercial area they were in around it. The room was on the ground floor and seemed like an office but they had no other information about it. Even though it was on the edge of the building, there was only one window and it was the size of letterbox high up on the wall, only beneficial in allowing in a bit of natural light.

"The window," he said when everyone else remained quiet, stepping back and eyeing the highrise that was directly opposite the window.

"What about it?" Voight asked roughly, snapping his attention back him.

"It's our only option. I can get him through there. It's small, but I've dealt with a lot worse," he stated confidently, knowing that at that time of the night, the building would likely be empty, giving him free reign on where he could set up for the perfect shot.

"There's no margin for error here. You miss and the whole building could go up," Voight warned him, as if he hadn't already considered everything that could wrong.

"I know," Jay said stiffly, staring his boss down. "But I won't."

"Anybody got any other ideas?" Voight asked the rest of them, and when they all remained quiet, Jay took it as a sign that he wasn't going to be refuted.

Without another word or waiting for approval, he headed over to his car where he always kept his trusty rifle on hand when they were on a bust. Popping open the trunk, he rapidly began setting up his weapon, loading it and making sure it was ready to go. It was a skill he had picked up easily, _scarily_ easily, back in the army. Now, it was as familiar as driving or making coffee to his partner's liking. He did it without a thought to spare.

Ready, he unzipped and peeled off his jacket and hoodie, and threw them into the trunk too. The less layers the better, he had always found, to help him minimise a number of variables that could throw off his shot by even a millimetre. Clothes restricted movement, which changed the course of every shot fired. Besides, despite the coolness of the night, he could feel his blood running warmer than usual as the adrenaline kicked in.

Footsteps alerted him that he had company as Jay grabbed his gun, glancing up to see Voight stood with his arms crossed, not a foot away from him. "You got this, Halstead?"

"I've got this," he assured him, only to be met with a semi-doubtful look. Slamming the trunk close in frustration and a hint of anger at Voight's lack of belief in him, Jay turned towards him as he repeated again, this time more assertively. "I've _got_ this."

"Are you going up there as her partner, or her boyfriend?" Voight asked, and Jay had to grit his teeth to stop himself from snapping back at him.

"What does it matter?" he replied instead.

"It matters because I want to know who's hands I'm laying Erin's life in," Voight remarked, though Jay could see the cracks in his usually stoic features to find a hint of worry there.

Inhaling deeply until the cool Chicago air cut sharply at his lungs, he breathed out steadily to calm himself and remember that they were both after the same result here. To get Erin and Burgess out of there, as safely as they could.

"You're laying it _my_ hands. Partner and boyfriend, but mostly, a Ranger. Alright?" Jay finally answered as truthfully as he could.

"Alright," Voight replied after a beat, reaching out to grab his shoulder and squeezing it tightly once. "You're our best shot, Jay. Go save our team."

...

He had set up pretty quickly in a small break room in the building opposite the club, giving him the perfect angle and view into the room. He hadn't expected the relief to fill him as it had when he finally caught sight of Erin, back towards him but looking as unharmed as she had when he had helped zip up her dress earlier that evening in the locker room.

The earpiece that linked the entire team together was never quiet, though they all tried to keep off it if they could. Erin was trying to reason with the man holding them, if not to drop his gun and let them out safely, then to at least let Burgess out. The latter had reassured them all a few times that she wasn't badly injured, a dislocated shoulder from what Jay had deduced by the way she curled her arm awkwardly into herself, but she was in no position to help overpower the man who held their lives, along with the hundred or so partygoers still in the club, in his hands.

Voight had informed the two of them of their plan, telling them to keep going as they were, to stall for time for Jay and to sit tight for only a bit longer.

Forcing himself to disassociate from the situation emotionally, as he had been trained, Jay steadied his breathing and reduced any movements to that necessary. He watched through the scope for the perpetrator, but he could only see the lower half of his body through the window, having stood opposite Erin and further back towards the room.

"Do you have the shot?" Voight asked suddenly, probably wondering what was taking so long. They were all stationed around the building with the bomb unit backing them up. If Jay got it right, they'd still need their professional help to get everyone out safely.

"Negative," he replied, urging the suspect to move into his scope of view so he could drop him there and then. "I need-" Jay suddenly broke off when he saw Erin step back slightly and how the man holding them there followed her movements without meaning to.

"Need, what? Finish your goddamn sentences, Halstead!" Voight barked, but Jay could barely hear the words as they washed over him now he had a plan and was preparing himself to take the shot.

"Erin, when you're ready, I need you to take two steps back, and then hit the ground when I say so," he said carefully so there was no room for misinterpretation or anyone else to interrupt.

The idea was simple, and it took only 20 seconds for Erin to follow it through. Taking a small step back, and then another, Jay held his rifle in place with his finger on the trigger as the perpetrator finally came into view. There really was no room for error; a bullet straying off its course by even a millimetre could either hit Erin or the C4 right then. And if it missed either one, then he had no doubt the man would shoot out of fright if nothing else.

"Erin," he murmured, seeing her stiffen slightly at her name and knowing what he was going to ask her to do next. "Duck."

It took less than a second for the word to leave his mouth before he was sending the bullet towards the suspect, Erin having done as he had directed without any hesitation. It hit the target right where Jay had aimed, his trademark shot right between the eyes.

"He's down," Jay stated, watching as Erin hurriedly unarmed the man now an ungraceful heap on the floor despite his inability to do anything with it. She looked over her shoulder briefly, following the line where the bullet had come from and he knew she was looking for him. But he was hidden in the shadows of the darkened building, meaning she was left disappointed.

"Hold back! Let the bomb unit in first." Voight's voice came through suddenly, and Jay realised he had been paying so much attention to what was going on in that room that he had zoned out. The team had infiltrated the building, but couldn't get into the room until they were told it was okay to do so by the bomb unit. "Nice shot, Halstead."

...

It took the bomb unit just over five minutes to instruct on how to successfully open the door without setting off any of the explosives. Her shaking hands didn't help the process, but she was glad there were no wires involved nonetheless.

Her team were the first through the door, with those from the bomb unit attending to the C4 not a second behind them. Erin had made her way over to where Burgess was sat on the desk on the far side of the room, having made sure she was out of harm's way just in case something had gone wrong. Her face was blotchy and pale, and Erin could tell it was taking everything in the other woman to keep herself from crying out in pain.

"She needs medical attention," Erin stated immediately when Ruzek approached them, knowing he was probably more worried about her right then.

Ruzek nodded and holstered his gun. "EMTs are waiting outside, c'mon," he said softly, wrapping an arm around Burgess' waist and leading her out of the room.

Erin watched them leave, hearing the strained whimpers her friend let out at every step she took and thanked god it wasn't anything worse. Their evening had been bad enough and they had practically stared certain death in the face, but having have her friend and colleague injured beyond a sprain or a dislocation would have probably been the final nail for her.

Scanning the room quickly, she couldn't help the disappointment that hit her when she noticed that Jay wasn't there. She knew it wasn't possible for him to be; he had been the one to fire the shot that saved them meaning he would have been across the street in a whole other building. Considering the victim was still warm, it definitely hadn't been enough time for him to get over, suit up and join the team before they entered.

Voight was in front of her before Erin could turn away, and there was something about the familiarity of him that brought her down rapidly from the adrenaline high. "And you?" he asked softly, knowing what he was referring to immediately.

"I'm okay," she replied, offering him a grim smile as she curled her hands into fists to keep them still. She didn't have any pockets to high them in this time, nor anything to hold onto. "You guys took your time, huh?"

"We didn't want to leave anything to chance," he told her, soothingly stroking her arm. "Jay's outside. Have him take you back to the district, alright? We'll see you there. Get everything sorted in your head and get yourself cleaned up."

Erin nodded, glad for the excuse to leave. "Okay, thanks."

"I'm not the one you should be thanking," Voight informed her, and this time, the smile that pulled on her lips was one of relief.

...

Jay went through the motions of taking apart his gun as quickly as he could, his mind mostly still on Erin. He had seen Ruzek bring out Burgess, leading her straight to the ambulance to get the help she needed, but no one else had followed and that was agitating him. He wanted to leave the weapon there and go find Erin, but rules were rules and he was an Army man. He knew exactly what the risks of leaving a sniper rifle, locked, loaded and ready to go, in the back of a car could end in. So he followed procedure, even if he did it on muscle memory.

He had just replaced it into its case when he heard Brett's voice, asking someone if they were hurt and somehow Jay just knew it was Erin. Slamming the case shut, he didn't even bother to close the trunk before taking a couple of steps towards where Erin had joined him by the car, evidently finding him before he could even look up.

Wordlessly, he took her in, checking her for any physical injuries though he had practically had an eye on her the whole time he had his rifle aimed in her direction. Plus he knew Voight wouldn't let her out without being checked out if had had even the smallest of scratches on her.

"Hey," Jay murmured softly, feeling the anxiety leave him rapidly at the sight of her in front of him. There was a tightness in his chest that he hadn't noticed was there until he took a breath and realised his breathing was no longer as constricted as it had been all night.

Erin didn't reply, instead stepping closer until she was within his reach to tug her tightly to him. He could feel her arms against his chest, a hand curling into his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her and keeping her as close as physically possible.

With a hand on her back and the other in her hair, he turned them carefully he was placed between her and the building which now contained the crime scene. Where their colleagues and the other emergency services were milling around, doing their jobs, and probably wondering how she was doing too. But he knew Erin, knew it took a hell lot for her to seek comfort like she had right then, in the middle of the a case and front of everyone. So he did what it was his job to do and protected her, even if it was from prying eyes at that moment in time.

Stroking her hair gently, Jay rested his chin upon her head, feeling her starting to relax against him. She kept her face tucked into his chest but he could detect her breathing calm down as her heart slowly began to match his pace. He allowed himself only a second, letting his eyes slide close as he held her, willing himself to forget how close it had been that night to never having this moment again.

Erin pulled back a minute or so later, though she didn't take a step away nor did she drop her hands. He watched as she kept her eyes trained over his shoulder before he shifted a bit to regain her attention. He laid his hand on either side of her neck, gently cupping her face and run his thumbs over her jaw line as he took her in.

"Are you hurt? At all?" he asked her forcefully, willing her not to cover up anything that he couldn't see.

Erin shook her head as much as she could without dislodging him. "I'm okay, Jay," she assured him with a wry smile. "Physically, I'm okay. Mentally, I'm a bit shook up. And I don't even know emotionally."

"The adrenaline will be wearing off soon," he stated, knowing it was probably the main cause of not having her head in the correct place right then. He'd gone through it way too many times before, where the adrenaline masks the emotional reflexes until it's just him and the dark, quietness. Only, he wasn't going to let her deal with it alone.

"Hmm..." she hummed, agreeingly. Unfurling her hands, she laid them flat against his chest and looked him straight in the eye. "That was a good shot. Thank you."

Taken aback by her words, Jay shook his head. "You don't have to thank me for having your back. I'm your partner; it's what I'm here for."

Erin smiled slowly and genuinely, pressing herself closer to him again. "I meant, thank you for not shooting _me_ instead. I've seen your aim at the shooting range," she teased, earning herself an unimpressed huff from him.

"Sometimes, Lindsay, I feel like you forget I'm a trained sharpshooter. The shooting range and long distance are two very different scenarios," Jay muttered, though there was amusement lining his words. He brushed back some of her hair as he became serious, an earnest look on his features as he added, "Regardless, I'd never miss. Not if it's you out there who needs me to make the shot."

"I know," Erin leaned up slightly to capture his lips with her own for a brief, grateful and life-affirming kiss. His hands dropped to her waist when she fell back, and she shivered at the loss of contact. Without a word, he reached into the open trunk and pulled out the hoodie which he had discarded earlier. Slipping it over her shoulders, Erin finally let him go to tug the material around her, indulging in its softness and the fact that it was _Jay's_.

"Let's head back to the district. I don't think they need us here anymore. You can fill everyone in once you've cleaned up and gotten changed, yeah?" he said as he shut the trunk, unknowingly repeating Voight's orders from earlier on.

"Yeah," she agreed, nodding and allowing herself to be ushered to the passenger's side of the car with a hand on her back, not even thinking about fighting him on driving right then.

Once Erin was safely inside, Jay gently closed the car door and glanced up towards the club building to see if anything new was going on. Fortunately, no-one seemed to be paying them any special attention but he spotted Voight near the entrance of the building, talking to a few people who Jay barely recognised. If he put more effort into it, he was sure he could at least narrow it down to their unit, but his mind was elsewhere completely.

Voight looked over at him not an instant later, casually and coolly in the middle of a conversation, indicating that he had probably been doing the same for a while now. Meeting his eyes, Jay watched as the sergeant remained where he was, giving him a stiff nod in wordless acknowledgement that he was trusting him to take care of Erin and get her back to the district. Nodding back, Jay climbed into the car without hesitation, smiling softly at Erin when she glanced over at him when he started the engine, grateful that the night was almost over.


	6. Father's Day

**Huge thanks to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing! :)**

* * *

Jay held his phone between his shoulder and ear as he opened the front door of their apartment, having returned home from his late morning run. He had spent the previous night out at Molly's with his brother and the rest of the usual suspects, getting home early that morning and waking up with the remains of a hangover. Erin was spending the weekend in New York, accompanying her brother with tying some loose ends so he could make his final, clean break and start afresh in Chicago. Jay had volunteered to tag along, but she had pointed out there was a chance she might not be back until mid-week and Voight wouldn't let them both go when Olinsky was already on leave for a couple of weeks.

So here he was, filling her in with some of the gossip he had picked up the previous night before asking her how New York was treating her.

"Actually, I do need a favour, if you don't mind," she said after informing him that, as much as she loved New York, Chicago was definitely the city for her.

"What kind of favour?" he asked, kicking off his shoes and making his way over to grab some water from the fridge.

"One I'm sure you can twist into winning Hank over," Erin replied, but it was more her goading voice which claimed his attention rather than the meaning of her words.

"Continue," Jay prompted, intrigued.

"Well, you know how it's Father's Day today?" Her soft, saccharine tone told him that he wasn't going to want to hear the rest of it, but she hurriedly carried on before he could get a word in edgeways. "I'm not making it home until tomorrow the earliest so please could you go drop off my present with Hank?"

Groaning, Jay threw himself onto one of the kitchen stools and leaned back onto the counter. "Erin-"

" _Please_ , Jay? You know how long I spent searching for the perfect present and it's right there in the drawer. Please? Pretty please? I even wrote the card and everything. You literally need to turn up and give it to him," she explained, making it all sound far simpler than he knew it would be. However, her words rang true; he _did_ know exactly how long it had taken her to find Voight the perfect gift, especially as this was the first since Justin had died. It was enough to make him concede, for both Erin and for Voight, wondering if the other man would prefer having some company that day or at least the knowledge that his pseudo-daughter was thinking of him. But then she carried on, breaking him out of his thoughts and adding more incentive to the chore. "I'll make it worth your while."

"Will you now? From New York?" he asked amusedly.

"When I'm back, obviously. But if you really want to know how, there's a box in the closet, under my jeans. You can sneak a peek…" she told him suggestively, trailing off after leaving him enough to start conjuring up the scenarios in his mind about what she could mean.

Jay cleared his throat, blinking a few times to rid himself of the images and trying to focus on the conversation at hand. "Oh, I will definitely be doing that. That's a thing that's happening. For sure," he assured her, already getting to his feet and making his way towards the bedroom.

"I figured," Erin laughed, deep and truly, making him smile at the sound of it. "So?" she finally prompted.

"Yeah, I'll go drop it off, don't worry," he told her, eyeing the drawer where he knew she kept the present before pulling open the door to her side of the closet.

"You are the _best_ , you know that? _The best_ ," she said emphatically, a grin clearly lacing her words.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Lindsay," Jay remarked smarmily, crouching down to dig out the box she had been talking about, a smirk forming on his face as he caught sight of red lace.

"Oh, I know," Erin said lightly, though Jay caught the sounds of other voices around her. "I've got to go, babe. Teddy's getting impatient."

"Must run in the family," he retorted, earning himself a sarcastic laugh. Putting everything back where he found it, he got back to his feet. "Call me later, fill me in with what's going on?"

He could hear her moving as she spoke, the sounds of the city blurring between her words. "I will do. Thanks again, Jay. I love you."

"Love you, too."

…

"What are you doing here?" Voight greeted him the moment the door opened, not that Jay was expecting anything warmer.

"I'm here to drop this off," he informed him, holding up the gift covered in plain blue wrapping paper with the greeting card taped to the top. Erin had clearly been prepared, something Jay put down to her excitement at finding something she deemed perfect. "As weird as it is to say this, happy Father's Day."

Voight narrowed his eyes at him before stepping back to let him in, taking the present from his hands when Jay held it towards him as he entered. "Then why _are_ you saying it?"

"It's from Erin. She was upset she couldn't be here to give it to you in person and asked me to. She spent ages trying to get you the perfect gift, and then we came across this. Thought you'd love it," Jay explained, entering the living room when Voight ushered him out of the hallway, watching as the other man inspected the gift before placing it onto the arm of the couch.

"Right," he replied evasively.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Jay asked as Voight simply stood there, showing no sign in picking up the gift again anytime soon.

Voight shrugged half-heartedly. "Why? You already know what's in there."

"So I can tell Erin you liked it."

"I can tell her myself, Halstead," he stated gruffly, staring him down until Jay rolled his eyes and nodded. "Why aren't you spending the day with your own father?"

Laughing dryly, Jay shook his head and turned away, eyes roaming over the line of photos that decorated the Voight front room. "Probably 'cause I haven't spoken to him in about, oh, let's see… 5 years now? I don't think dropping by would be really welcomed. Not that I'd want to, anyway," he shot over his shoulder with a self-depreciating smile. "Besides, I'm sure Will is with him so I have no doubt he's happy."

A silence fell between them, and Jay wasn't sure whether to take that as a sign to leave or if Voight was simply digesting what he had told him. Either way, he took a moment to skim over the home photos, each one clearly from a different day or occasion. Sure, he had been around to the Voight house more than a few times before, but it had always been with Erin and it had always been for dinner. He had noticed the pictures but had never taken the time to study them. As he looked closer, he had a feeling Erin had purposely ensured he had never gotten the chance to. There were enough of her up there to put a timeline together.

"The last photo of Erin before Camille lost her patience and set her straight about her clothing," Voight pointed out about the photo Jay had no idea he was lingering on. "After that, it was dresses, school uniform or brand new clothes which she deemed socially acceptable."

"I bet Erin was happy about that," Jay laughed, knowing that despite the changes she had made in her life since she was a teenager, there were still so many parts of her that hadn't changed; attitude included.

"I'd never heard so many arguments about clothes in my life. But, in light of everything else, it was the least of our worries," Voight explained, reminiscing in amusement and taking a seat.

Jay picked up the photo, taking a slightly closer look as something caught his eye. Or rather, a shiny something peeking out between the hem of Erin's top and jeans. "Huh. I never noticed this before," he murmured, a small frown pulling at his lips at the sight of the belly button piercing. It was probably not a subject that would ever come up naturally, but Jay was sure that it should have at least left a scar. One he doesn't recall ever seeing.

"Noticed what?" Voight asked, interrupting his musings and reminding him that he was alone with his boss, and shouldn't be thinking about how well he knew his girlfriend's body.

"Um, nothing. Just the picture. I've never noticed it before," Jay covered, not lying completely as he replaced it and turned back to Voight. "Any chance I can get a copy? I would love to see Erin's face when it turns up on the mantle."

"No," Voight replied without missing a beat.

"Fair enough." Jay honestly didn't expect anything different, but made a mental note to bring it up the next time he saw Erin. Changing the subject before his thoughts took him down the wrong road again, he nodded towards the TV in the corner of the room. "You catching the Hawks game tonight?"

Raising a brow, Voight nodded. "I'm heading out to the club, so probably, yeah."

Pausing, Jay realised that was probably the best he was going to get for the day and to head back if he wanted to catch the game himself. "Right. If that's not a cue to leave then…"

"I'll see you at work, Jay," Voight said, walking him to the door.

"Have a good evening," he replied, heading out before turning back at the last moment. "And seriously, happy Father's Day," he repeated earnestly, before adding when Voight furrowed his brow at him; "You know, from Erin."

Chuckling under his breath, Voight nodded and patted Jay on the shoulder as turned to leave again. "From Erin, right."


	7. Bunny

**Thank you to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing. It would still be in my head if you hadn't motivated me to write it :)**

* * *

Jay wasn't waiting. He really wasn't. If he couldn't sleep and was instead laying on their bed, playing solitaire on his tablet, it was simply because he wasn't tired. Even if they had started the day at nearly 6 a.m. and it was currently nearing 11 at night. It definitely was not because he was waiting for Erin to get home, worried about how her meeting with her mother had gone. Or was going, if that was the case. With Bunny, Jay could never tell if she truly wanted to see her daughter or the cop she was. And with Erin being the woman she was, she would give Bunny the time of day he would not if she believed her mother might have the tiniest inkling of actually wanting to be her mother.

Not that that would be the case today. Not after Bunny had approached them whilst heading back to the precinct after grabbing some lunch together, asking Erin for some time to talk. Insisting she come over to her place that evening, which Erin had brushed off and said she would meet her at the bar she was working at again, the only decent job the fickle woman could hold down.

And especially not when the two of them knew that Bunny's new 'friend' was clearly a drug dealer, if not her supplier. As much as Jay had wanted to tell Erin exactly what he thought of her mother, something he had done so previously and numerously, he knew she still felt the primal need as her daughter to perhaps try to help her. To save her. Because if she could do it, then why couldn't her mother?

Contemplating opening up Erin's game of Candy Crush, which he knew she would kill him for but sometimes payback was a bitch when she had no need to play on _his_ tablet, Jay froze as he heard the lock turn and the front door creak open.

He'd left the living room light on as was their tradition when one was home before the other, and he waited for her to appear in the bedroom doorway for a few seconds longer than he was happy to.

Hearing her keys being thrown onto the table by the door, her gun a heavy thump next to it, Jay got to his feet and left the tablet behind on the bed as he made his way out.

"Erin-" he began quietly, not wanting to disturb the quietness of the night. The words died on his tongue, no longer wanting to know what had happened when he saw the nasty bruise darkening her jaw, the corner of her bottom lip split.

She had spun towards him at his voice, having not heard him approach. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she assured him, heading to grab some ice from the fridge dispenser with a tea towel in her hand.

"You're not okay, Erin," Jay all but snapped, unable to control the red hot rage that burnt inside of him at the sight of her marred features. He reached her in a few strides, gently skimming his fingertips over the other side of her jawline in a complete contrast to how he felt. Somehow, she managed to bring it out in him, cooling his hotheadedness and calming impulsive actions. The injury was hidden by the makeshift ice pack she was pressing to both her jaw and lip, so he instead tilted her head up to meet her eyes. "Who did this to you?"

"Don't-" she began, but he knew the answer the second the question left his mouth.

"It was him, wasn't it? That dealer Bunny's been hanging out with recently? Is that why she wanted to see you?" he asked in rapid fire, not even giving her the time to reply to one before the next question slipped out.

"Jay, please-" Erin tried again, her voice somehow calm and soothing though he failed to hear it over his own anger. Dropping his hand from her face, he took a step back and held onto the counter behind him in an iron knuckle grip instead.

"I'm going to kill him," he stated venomously, features hardening as he conjured up the man's face in his mind from the brief look that afternoon, and imagining him even daring to lay a hand on his girlfriend, his _partner_. Jay had no problem with returning the favour ten-fold.

Erin stepped around him to perch on the stool, shaking her head as she did so. "I've already handled it. He got a broken nose for the effort."

"Where he is now?" he prodded, crossing his arms before he ripped their kitchen counter to pieces and earned her wrath in that way.

"Jay, let it go," she begged him softly yet strictly, the tone she used when she didn't want to deal with the subject anymore.

He had no doubt she had fumed over what had happened, giving Bunny a piece of her mind about the company she kept and once again insisting to either let Erin help her out or to get out of her life forever. Telling her how she hated having to be the one to taken the brunt of her mother's bad decisions, and how 20 years later, they were still somehow in the cycle as they had always been.

Or so Jay hoped she had, otherwise he was going to have some choice words with Bunny. Especially when he knew that Erin would never tell her mother how hurt she truly was by always being let down, and how that pain was probably fiercer than the one on her face.

Erin's pain, both physical and emotional, brought up his anger to full throttle. "I'm definitely not letting it go!"

She must have realised his adamant stance on the subject, and taken pity on him by answering his last question. "I don't know where he is. He ran off after I pulled my gun out on him," she told him with a defeated shrug.

Inhaling deeply, Jay allowed himself a moment longer to focus on that scumbag without a name and what he would do to him when he finally got his hands on him, before letting it all out with a slow, controlled exhale. It was a method he had been taught in the army to keep his emotions in check and keep focused on the job at hand. Right then, that was making sure the woman in front of him was truly as fine as she had insisted she was. She was what mattered the most right then, not whoever did this to her. And after a harrowing evening with Bunny, she needed someone to show her she came first to everything else.

Taking the tea towel from her hand, Jay swapped it for a dry one and added more ice to it before carefully resting it against her bruise, his other hand going to cradle her head lovingly. He had to give it to her when she didn't wince nor hiss at the contact, but instead grabbed his forearm and ran her hand up and down it repeatedly.

"You should have shot him," he muttered eventually. Erin glared at him, unimpressed at his opinion, not that it deterred him. "You should have!"

"He didn't have a weapon," she replied, both of them knowing the legal reasoning behind her words. Her eyes fluttered close for a moment as Jay simply stood there, unsure what she was thinking of until she squeezed his arm and gently pulled it away from her. "Let's just go to bed. I really just want to go to bed, curl up with you and forget this ever happened, okay?" she told him, taking the ice out of his hand before prompting him when he failed to reply or react. "Jay?"

Nodding, he watched her dump the ice into the sink and hang the towel on a drawer handle to dry. The light from the living room casted shadows on her features as she moved around the kitchen, making her injury look far worse than it was.

Swallowing the lump of rage building in his throats again, he waiting until she approached him again. "We're telling Voight first thing tomorrow, and I don't care what you think about it, you're not leaving _anything_ out," he stated, leaving no room for argument though they both knew Voight would demand the story out of them when she walked into Intelligence the next morning regardless of what Jay wanted.

"Tomorrow," she agreed vaguely before grabbing his hand and leading him to the bedroom, making sure to turn the lights off as they went.

...

Silence filled Voight's office once Erin finished telling him, and Jay for that matter, everything that had happened the previous night after she had left the district up until she had returned home. Neither one of them had interrupted her, but their facials expressions said everything they weren't and didn't have to. Jay stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed tightly with his muscles jumping every now and again when he was particularly affected by what she said, whilst Voight remained in his chair, one leg crossed atop of the other in a casual stance though by the way his jaw ticked and tightened every now and again, she knew it was simply a facade.

Finally, the sergeant turned his sight towards Jay. "You let her go alone?" he accused harshly.

"He didn't _let_ me do anything! It was _my_ decision," Erin snapped before Jay could even summon an answer.

"He's supposed to be your partner, Erin!" Voight seethed, still eying the man in question even as she tried to reel him back in, knowing Jay wasn't going to defend himself when he probably agreed with their boss.

"This isn't Jay's fault," she stated matter-of-factly, and she could feel the tension dissolve as quickly as Voight's demeanour changed.

"No, it's that son of a bitch's who did that to your face," he growled, planting both feet on the ground and leaning forwards in his seat. "Where is he now?"

Erin rolled her lips between her teeth, ignoring the stinging cut, before shaking her head. "No idea."

Her answer clearly rubbed Voight the wrong way, who directed his anger back towards Jay. "You let him get away with doing this to her?"

"I wouldn't have if it was up to me," he retorted immediately, holding Voight's stare for a moment before their attention jumped towards her when she scoffed.

"Considering the first words out of your mouth were 'I'm going to kill him', excuse me for not wanting you to go after him last night," she shot back, raising a brow to dare him to argue her words. When he didn't, she nodded once and turned back to Voight. "Besides, I handled him."

"Unless he's behind bars or six feet under, I don't class it as being handled," he replied, getting up and grabbing his jacket as he passed them out of his own office. "I bet you your mother knows exactly where to find him."

..

They sat in the car across the street from the address Bunny had given Voight, keeping an eye out for the man they wanted. It was a rundown building in a sparsely populated area; perfect for drug activity.

"You're meant to have her back 24/7, remember? You promised me, Halstead," Voight stated sincerely, breaking the silence they had been sitting in for almost an hour now.

It was just the two of them in Voight's car, Erin having been left behind at the district so they could ' _do this by the books_ '. Which they all knew was a load of bull because Voight had never done anything by the books, and there were no rules against her making an arrest on someone she was going to press charges against.

But when Jay hadn't stepped in, the men both knew she had realised she was fighting a losing battle. If she had been brave and stupid, she would have followed them but instead, she had promised to back down if they promised to bring him in to Narcotics for booking.

"You don't think I know that? But you know how Erin is. She didn't want me there and I couldn't force myself into the situation," Jay replied with a tired sigh, rubbing his forehead and willing the headache he had been giving himself all day by the same thoughts to go away.

"Does what she wanted really matter right now?" Voight asked, glancing over at him with a hardened glare. Jay merely shrugged and shook his head.

"Hindsight is always 20/20," he muttered dryly, about to add that he would never make the same mistake again when the door of the building they were staking out opened and a familiar looking man exited. Only today, Jay realised with some pride, he was sporting a crooked nose with white butterfly bandages stuck across it. "That's him."

Voight was out of the car before Jay could even get into action. "Let's go."

..

True to his word, Voight hadn't worked up the dirtbag too badly, though Jay wished he could've had another hit. But, as promised, they handed him over to Narcotics for processing and to follow the case through, if there were any on top of the assault charges Erin was bringing down on him.

She had gone to give her statement in the late afternoon, brushing off Jay's attempt in coming with her with a bemused smile and telling him that the last thing they needed was for the cop who helped rough him up to make an appearance. It was a lame excuse, similar to the one they had used on her earlier in the day, and he knew she was simply giving back what she had gotten.

After following her to roll up to make sure they were good, Jay had bid her goodbye with the promise of bringing dinner home and headed back upstairs. They had a bit of paperwork left over from the week, but he couldn't get his head on straight enough to focus on it. Now they had dealt with the man who had hit her, all Jay could focus on was the cause behind it all.

Pushing away from his desk, he approached Voight's office and knocked on his open door out of custom. Not expecting a reply anyway, Jay closed the door behind him and sat in the chair opposite his boss.

"How's Erin?" Voight asked gently, his eyes jumping to over Jay's shoulder at the detective's empty desk before returning back to him.

"How she always is. Playing it off like it's nothing, like she should have expected it and doesn't deserve to feel sorry for herself again," Jay replied, pushing back the anger that came with the words as he recalled her simply brushing it all off before she had left with a shrug and a sad smile. "I want Bunny out of her life, Sarge. For good."

Voight let out a strangled chuckle, smiling wryly as if his words were familiar to him. "I've tried, trust me. But she finds a way to crawl back in just when Erin least expects it."

"She's too good to her," Jay all but spat, knowing exactly what it was about Bunny that drew Erin back in again and again.

"She's too good to a lot of people," Voight remarked pointedly, actually making Jay smile softly for a moment before he recalled where he had been going with the conversation.

"When she came home last night…" he began, trailing off at the memory and the white hot rage that flooded him quicker than he thought was possible. "I wanted to kill him, Voight. Actually kill him, with my bare hands if I had to, for what he did to her. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for her as a kid. Did this kind of thing happen all the time to her? Is this what Bunny let happen to her children then too?"

Voight shook his head at Jay's imploring questions. "That's something you need to talk to her about."

"I know, I know. I just don't want to push her. Her past is her past; it is what it is. And I don't _need_ to know. It would just make things easier if I did," he explained, clasping his hands together in front of him and casting his eyes downwards.

"Why?"

Jay lifted a single shoulder and looked up. "I dunno, it'd help know what I can do to cheer her up or take her mind off things right now. She's more affected about her mother putting her in this position than what happened."

Voight seemed to watch him for a minute, a contemplative look passing over his features. He nodded diminutively as if he had understood exactly what Jay was talking about before picking up a pen and scribbling something down on a piece of scrap paper. He held it out towards the younger man, who stared at it questioningly before shifting to reach for it.

On it was the name of what Jay could only assume was a place to eat, as well as the address. "It's a diner near Lincoln's Square, tiny place but it's open all hours. I use to meet Erin there sometimes when she was still my informant, grab some food."

"Okay…" Jay replied, slightly confused with what he was to do with the information and how it linked back to what he had been talking about.

Voight seemed to have noticed his bewilderment, rolling his eyes as he explained, "Take her there. She loved the cheesecake, would give up an entire meal just to have dessert."

"Sounds like Erin," Jay muttered, staring at the paper once again before folding it up and tucking it into his pocket. "Thanks, Sarge," he added as he got to his feet, only to turn back when he reached the door. "And for what it's worth, I _am_ sorry. For not having her back with Bunny and letting her get hurt. That's on me."

"No, it's not. It was that bastard's and he got what he deserved," Voight informed him strictly, leaving no room for argument, though they both knew he hadn't gotten what the two of them thought he deserved. "You'd cross that line for her?"

Jay didn't need any further details to know what he was referring to. Erin had let slip it that morning and he had casually repeated it not a few minutes earlier about what he would do to that son of a bitch if he hadn't had voices telling him otherwise. Both voices of reason and Erin's. "Yes, sir. Without a second thought."

"Jay." Voight stopped him as he went to open the door once again. "You're good police, remember that. If nothing else, then do it for her."

That was definitely not what he had been expecting to hear, not after everything he had thought about doing for the past day. Letting out a long, harrowing breath, he nodded. "Yeah, I will."

...

"I thought you were grabbing dinner?" Erin's voice called out the second he stepped into their apartment. She was peeking out of the kitchen at him in the hallway, dressed in just one of his hoodies which she had official claimed as hers long ago and nothing underneath. Jay appreciated the look, even if she was frowning at him right then. "What's this?"

Glancing down at the bouquet in his hand, he held them out as he approached her. "Daisies. They're your favourite, right?"

"They are, thank you. But you didn't have to," she told him, taking them out of his hands and lifting it to her nose to breathe in their fresh scent.

"I did," he argued, explaining when she shot him a querying look, "I'm sorry for the way I reacted to everything. I should have been more supportive rather than-"

"Murderous?" she supplied for him. When all he could do was nod in reply, she placed her flowers down carefully onto the counter next to them and stepped right up to him. "I get it, I do. I'd have reacted the same way if it had been you," she said, placing a hand on his chest right above his heart and looking at him dead in the eye where she must have seen the hesitation and uneasiness her words had brought him. "What? You don't think I would have?"

"No, I just wouldn't wanted you to have," he explained, already knowing where this was going and the point she was going to make, especially when her eyebrows rose high and she smirked winningly.

"And now you see how I felt." Jay allowed his eyes to fall close for a second, admitting defeat to her logic. His hands fell to her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him briefly. It was warm and familiar, and Jay wasn't sure if it was more comforting for him or for her. "Thank you for not acting on it."

Once she pulled back, he leaned in to press a chaste kiss to her mouth, smiling into it when he felt her lips curve against his own. He squeezed her hips when they broke apart, hands travelling south and under the hoodie to her bare backside to pull her tighter to him.

"C'mon, throw on some jeans. I want to take you somewhere for some dinner," he told her, much to her surprise. He chuckled at her expression, knowing his actions had purposely drifted her thoughts towards another activity they both enjoyed. However, he had promised dinner and the sooner they left, the sooner they could return and have the night together.

Erin eventually shook her head. "I don't think I'm in any state to be going out for dinner, Jay," she murmured with a small shrug.

Jay took in the bruised jaw, the marbling black, blue and green contrasting dearly against her porcelain skin. Carefully, he laid a hand against her neck, thumb barely skimming over the injury before brushing over the cut on her bottom lip. It was healing, that was for sure, but he ghosted his lips over both sites nonetheless and smiled when he felt her sigh contently at his actions.

"You look beautiful. You always do," he told her honestly, smile deepening when her cheeks tinted pink ever so slightly. "I promise, you'll love it. Besides, I didn't say it was somewhere _nice_."

Laughing, she gave him a dimpled smile and nodded. "Well, how can I say no after that?"


	8. Christmas Tree

**Big thanks to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ for all of her help with this fic and the beta-ing, as always :)**

* * *

"You didn't have to come with me, you know," Erin said as she curled her hand around Jay's elbow, keeping close to him in the crowds.

The ground was crunchy from the first snowfall of that winter, and they were both bundled up in warm coats, scarves, gloves and hats to keep them from falling victim to the cold weather. However, with the snowfall also came the upcoming festive season.

With this being the first year with Olive bringing Danny to visit for Christmas, Erin had decided that she would try to recreate the festive theme the Voight house use to exude when she was growing up there. It was Camille's favourite time of the year, stating that it was the only way she coped with the freezing temperatures. They had had a tradition of having a real tree in the living room, decorated by the four of them one evening with a few lights on the outside of the house. It wasn't much but it had been fun to see Christmas on the other side for Erin. But without Camille, Justin nor Erin in the house any longer, Voight would never go to the effort of decorating himself.

Which was where she came in. And with a brief mention to Jay earlier that afternoon in the break room, they now found themselves in a tree sale lot.

"Trust me, Erin, when you see what I have in mind, you'll be grateful that I decided to tag along," he told her confidently, shooting her a smile which only backed up his words.

"Oh, really?" she laughed, allowing him to guide her through the many trees without sparing much of a glance at them.

"I'm practically a pro when it comes to choosing a good tree," Jay bragged nonchalantly, stopping in front of a 6 footer to seemingly consider before shaking his head and moving on.

" _How_ , exactly?" Erin questioned, because from what she knew about her partner and boyfriend, being a professional at picking a good Christmas tree somehow hadn't come up.

"Experience," he merely stated.

"I feel like there's more to this story…" she prompted, casually pushing her body into his to bump him slightly.

Jay laughed and nodded. "Yeah, there probably is, but check this one out! This is it," he proclaimed as they stood in front of a rather tall tree. One which had Erin craning her head back to see the top of.

"Don't change the subject, Jay. If you don't tell me, I'll get Will to," she teased even as she eyed the tree.

Jay detached himself from her momentarily as he rounded the tree to take it in, no doubt inspecting it for any damage. But his voice floated back towards her as he spoke nonetheless. "My mom loved Christmas and we were forced to do everything together until we were out of the house. That included picking the tree she deemed perfect, decorating it, hanging up wreaths and putting together a nativity scene."

"Your mom must have been some kind of superwoman to have wrangled the two of you hellraisers into doing chores with her. I'd love to have seen that," she stated with fond amusement, knowing from the stories she had heard from the brothers that they probably terrorised more than just each other.

"There wasn't much you could say no to when it came to my mom," he informed her with a soft smile as he reappeared, something she noticed would normally form on his features the rare times he spoke about the good times with his mother. The smile transformed into a wicked smirk quickly, however. "It's where we get our charm from, obviously."

"Obviously," she repeated dryly, smile still on her face as he came to stand next to her again.

"So, the tree? What do you think?" he urged, throwing out a hand towards the monstrosity. It was very nearly double her height, but it was a luscious green which was only intensified by the light snow on it.

"I think you need to remember where Hank lives and that _this_ is definitely not fitting in through the front door let alone in the front room," Erin retorted, but Jay was shaking his head before she could even finish.

"No, no, no. Don't worry about any of that. I've got the perfect plan, alright? A vision, better than the tree at Rockefeller," he told her, borderline excited; something that was pretty much contagious.

"You got a tree decorating guy or something?" she mused, laughing.

"Nah, this is all me, babe," Jay assured her, smiling warmly and turning towards her. "Well?"

"If you've got a vision, then who am I to stop you?" Erin shrugged. She knew it had been the right response when he practically lit up, leaning over to press a fierce kiss to her temple.

"See, this is why I love you," he stated, stepping back and gesturing to a nearby salesman that they wanted that tree. Erin was thankful that they had brought his car instead of hers, because she was fairly certain it was going to do some kind of damage on their way home.

"Yup, sure, _this_. Not the fact I've saved your life on countless occasions or anything," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"I've saved yours too so we're even. It doesn't really count," Jay replied coolly, gently grabbing her by her arm and moving her back as they watched two teenage boys move the tree they wanted.

"I'll show you what doesn't count when we get home and you're sleeping on the couch," she retorted even as she huddled closer to him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"We never do get much sleeping done on that couch, anyways," Jay brushed off, a sly grin on his face which hid nothing about what he was thinking.

Smirking, Erin teased, "Then I guess it's documentaries for you tonight."

...

It was close to 11pm by the time they were done decorating, having taken longer due to the bickering, shoving and the mini snowball fight that had interfered with the task at hand. They hadn't eaten since leaving the district almost 6 hours earlier, but it had been hard to focus on hunger when they were having fun.

Erin had called Voight to insist he spent the evening out to allow her time to decorate as she had told him she was planning on doing. He hadn't been too happy that he was being banned from his own house, but they were in the middle of a slow week so he took the opportunity to hang out at the club with some friends.

She was practically buzzing by the time Voight had arrived home, waiting by the rear entrance and bouncing on her feet as he approached her.

"It's definitely starting to look like Christmas around here," Voight noted when she had taken him into the living room, making a show of the decent fake tree her and Jay had picked up on the way back.

Tinsel strung from branch to branch, with baubles and homemade pieces from when Justin was a kid hung sparsely in between. There was an angel at the top; Camille's favourite item which had been treasured and cherished ever since even though it hadn't been used.

"Wait until you've seen outside," Erin told him after allowing enough time for Voight to take it all in.

"Is this why you had me come through the back?" he asked, raising a brow and following her towards the front door.

"Yup. Prepare to be amazed, alright?" she said excitedly, a smile curving deeper on her features when he simply rolled his eyes. "Ready?"

"Erin," Voight began warningly though there was clear bemusement in his tone.

"Brace yourself; it's awesome," she laughed before opening the door and leading them out into the front porch.

There, in the middle of the front yard, stood the huge tree they had gotten earlier, decorated to the nines with lights. Everything hung on it was illuminated, including the star at the top.

It had been a small mission to get it done, including a few laughing fits on her part as she had watched Jay struggle balance himself on the ladder whilst fixing a few baubles she had stuck on previously. She had sobered up pretty quickly when he very nearly lost his footing, her stomach dropping as her heart raced in fear. After a small lecture about watching himself and how the tree wasn't worth taking his ass to the ER, they had finished up quickly.

Erin was pretty sure Jay had done so with compromise, not wanting to get another tongue lashing from her.

"This is amazing, kiddo," Voight observed with a smile, both of them making their way down the stairs.

"What did I tell you?" she replied proudly, heading towards where Jay stood at the edge of the path and nudged him gently with an elbow. "I think he likes it."

Jay chuckled, slipping an arm around her shoulders as hers went to his back, clutching lightly at his jacket and turning her body towards him. "Oh, I know he does. Told you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah," she laughed, in too good of a mood to even argue against him being right. Voight had circled the tree and was now facing them, looking impressed. "Well?"

"I think you've outdone yourself. This was definitely not what I was expecting when you said you wanted to get the house ready for Christmas," Voight informed her, gesturing towards the tree.

Erin glanced up at Jay for a second, only to notice his attention was still on the tree. "I'll confess, I just wanted a real tree inside again like how we use to do it, but Jay's the one who had this brilliant idea. Decoration and all," she admitted.

"Is that so?" Voight asked, eying the man in question in a mix of surprise and amusement.

"Man of many talents, don't forget," Jay reminded him, a smirk on his lips as Erin laughed silently at his conceited answer.

"At least we know you have a career to fall back on should you ever get kicked out of Intelligence," Voight retorted, taking one long, final glance at the tree before heading back inside.

Erin stifled her laughter at Voight's words, pressing her mouth to Jay's shoulder and watching as the smirk slipped off his face and contort into something resembling a pout as he processed the remark and eventually commented on it. "I'm slightly confused. Was that a compliment or a threat? Because it sounded like it might have been a threat."

"At least he liked it?" she tried to reason with him sweetly, though it did nothing to change his mood and only earned her an unimpressed look for her efforts. "Take the win, babe. Take the win," she told him, patting him on the chest before grabbing his hand to lead him inside too.


	9. Hospital

**Could not have done any of this without _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ helping with this fic and the beta-ing. Thank you :)**

* * *

"Erin." Voight breathing her name in relief was what snapped her attention up from the linoleum floor of the ER where she had been staring for the better part of the past 30 minutes.

Her senses suddenly came crashing back to her; the sounds of the busy hospital, the smell of the alcohol being swabbed at her skin, the sight of bright white lights of the room and the feel of heat on her arm as she was being stitched. Only taste remained, but as she couldn't taste blood, she counted herself lucky.

Voight was in front of her within four steps, causing her to crane her neck up from her position on the edge of the bed. "How bad is it?"

Erin blinked a couple of times as she forced herself to interpret his words and come up with a reply. "It's just a graze,"

He nodded, peering at the two neat lines of black stitches on her left bicep before catching her eyes again. "And Jay?"

Erin shook her head, feeling her eyes begin to fill once again even as she willed herself not to cry. Not again. Not here. "It's bad, Hank," she whispered, her voice coming out shakily and rougher than she would like. Shaking her head, her eyes drifted back to the floor, unable to look at Voight as she spoke lest she broke down. "He crashed twice on the way here. They- they took him straight up to surgery after they got him stable. Will's up there waiting."

"Erin-" he began, but when she failed to look up, she felt him shift until he was eye level with her, claiming her attention with a warm hand upon hers on the examination table. Erin had barely noticed how they had cleaned up her hands with warm water to make sure she didn't have any other injuries. "Hey, look at me, kiddo," Voight demanded, and she slowly did as he said. "Your partner is nothing if not stubborn. He's a fighter, okay? He's not going to let this beat him."

"You didn't see him, you don't know that! They got him three times and I couldn't-" she broke off, taking in a ragged breath and willing herself to calm down so not to remember all the red, warm, sticky blood she had had the worst time trying to control until the EMTs had reached them.

After returning fire and getting all the perpetrators down, Erin had turned to Jay, who had looked paler than she had ever seen him. Guiding him to the floor where they were, she had quickly seen the causes of it and radioed in for an urgent ambulance. She had managed to keep Jay talking and awake for no more than 2 minutes.

She could feel the small tugs on her arm as the doctor worked to put in her stitches, not saying a word or acknowledging the two of them as she did so. Curling her hands around the edge of the table, she fought the urge to scream and shout, to stop with the platitudes, to beg for an update even though she was told she would only get one once he was out of surgery.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to compartmentalise as she filled Voight in with what had happened. "They were waiting for us, knew we wouldn't be on our guard 'cause they were just witnesses. It's only because Jay thought he heard something that we hit the ground before they opened fire. Or he pulled me down; I don't remember," she admitted, shaking her head and knowing it was the emotional stress right then that was causing her memories to get a bit jumbled up.

"We'll piece it all together once we get a statement from the both of you, but until then, let's get you patched up, and then we'll head up to see how Jay's doing," he told her calmly, patting her hand a couple of times before standing up straight again.

Nodding, Erin peered up through her lashes at the thought of leaving the ER and heading back into the reality of _waiting_. "Hank, I'm scared. It was _really_ bad," she murmured softly, hearing him sigh in response.

"Don't go there, Erin. Until we hear anything else, you've got to believe he'll be fine, alright?" he said strictly, leaving no room for argument. Knowing there was nothing she could say to that, she nodded once again, allowing her eyes to close as she felt him lovingly cup her cheek and press a kiss to the top of her head.

It was the best comfort she could seek right then.

...

Surgery had apparently been a success, but Erin was not seeing any progress. It had been over 7 hours since she'd been allowed to see Jay, laying on the hospital bed with IVs attached to both hands, wires monitoring his vitals and an oxygen mask ensuring he got enough.

Will had explained to her in layman's terms that it had been the bullet Jay had taken to the abdomen which had caused the most problem. It had nicked the hepatic artery, which was why he had lost so much blood. Luckily, and Erin had scoffed dryly at his use of the word, it hadn't caused any other internal damage, with the two other wounds also being easy fixes. The one that had hit him just below his shoulder had been lodged in the muscle with the one in his arm was more of a flesh wound.

Everyone else had returned to the district soon after hearing Jay would be okay, with only Voight lingering back to make sure she would be alright at the hospital. After assuring him she would, and that she had Will there too, he had given her a brief hug, reminded her he had told her how stubborn her partner was and to call if she needed anything at all.

The chair she sat on at the side of Jay's bed was anything but comfortable, but she wasn't about to complain. The last time she had muttered about her arm itching, Will had tried to arrange her a morphine drip to help with the pain. She had shot him down immediately without stating why, saying she'd prefer a numbing agent instead.

Will must have been happy to have something to do after feeling almost useless the entire day as his little brother was being tended to that he had fetched a tube of lidocaine himself and applied it around her stitches. Erin would have insisted on doing it herself if she hadn't recognised the need for a reprieve from simply watching Jay do nothing on Will's features. So she had bared it and said thank you at the end.

Gently running her fingers over the back of Jay's she carefully curled her hand around his once again, making sure not to joust the needle in the back of it. He was warm and familiar, and if she closed her eyes and blocked out the sounds, she could almost imagine they were in bed at home. With her on her tablet, reading a book or surfing the internet as Jay slept besides her, hand clutched in hers and resting somewhere on her. Using her tablet one-handed wasn't the easiest achievement in the word but she would gladly sacrifice her other hand if it meant holding his.

It was nearing 2 a.m. when she felt his fingers twitch against hers. Sitting up straight, Erin leaned forward to take a proper look at him and stood up when she saw his eyes start to blink open slowly.

"Will, he's waking up," she called out to the doctor. Will jumped to his feet from where he was sat on the small couch against the wall, resting his eyes in a way that had made her think he had actually been asleep. Turning all her attention back to her boyfriend, she reached out to gently skim the pads of her fingers over his temple. "Jay?"

He immediately reacted to her touch, trying to bring up the hand she wasn't holding. However, Will got to him first and held his arm down to the bed to keep him still. "Don't move, Jay. Just give me a second, alright?"

Will then went about checking his vitals in ways Erin could not understand. She noticed he only called for assistance once he had done what he wanted, and she smiled softly at his brotherly gesture, wanting to check on him first before anyone else began prodding around.

Jay tried to reach up again, going for the mask on his face but only to be stopped by Will insisting he left it alone until he fully woke up from his anaesthesia.

"Hey, hey, no. Listen to your brother for now," Erin told him as he weakly attempted to fight Will's instructions.

She stepped closer to him, leaning over the top of the bed so she could see him properly and hoped he could too. The anaesthesia was still in his system, and she could tell he was fighting sleep by the way his eyelids pulled to be closed. Erin ran her fingers through his hair tenderly, hoping to coerce him to give in without any fight. He turned his head ever so slightly in her direction at her ministrations.

"I'm here, I'm right here, baby. I'm not going anywhere. Relax, okay? You're going to be alright," she murmured reassuringly, ignoring Will as he carried on with his duties or the new presence in the room in the form of Doctor Rhodes.

Jay's eyes eventually fluttered close but she felt him squeeze her hand more fiercely than she thought should have been possible for someone in his state. Ghosting her lips over his forehead, she pulled back and smiled softly to herself as relief flooded her completely.

...

When Jay came around the next evening, it was the first time he was fully coherent. Which meant Erin had to deal with empathetically assuring him that she was fine and showing him her injuries when Will ratted her out to prove to him that it truly wasn't that bad.

Between the two of them, they were able to fill Jay in with what happened after paying the 'witnesses' a visit. He had been shocked to say the least, anger quickly replacing it until Erin informed him that they had taken out the two shooters immediately. The case was closed now, anyway, and once they had Jay's statement, it would be filed away. A pretty anticlimactic ending to a horrifying case, Erin thought, but kept it to herself.

"So, um, just so you know, you don't get to do this again, okay?" Erin told him once they were alone. Will had a shift starting in a few hours and had gone to take a power nap, leaving Erin with Jay for the first time since everything had happened.

"What, get shot? It's not at the top of my list of fun things to do," Jay remarked smartly. He had been propped up on the bed so he wasn't completely lying down anymore, allowing Erin to see him better and for him to feel less like a patient.

"Anything that lands you here, like this. This is it. I can't do this again, Jay," she stated from where she sat in the chair next to his bed as she had for the past 24-plus hours. She had her elbow on the bed next to his legs with her head being supported by her hand.

"Erin, I'm going to be fine," he said for what seemed like the millionth time to her, and she couldn't help the wry smile that curved at her lips.

"Yeah, but for a while there, I had no idea what I was going to hear next," she explained, swallowing around the lump that had formed in her throat and willing her emotions away. _Not now, not again_. Not when Jay was up, talking and even joking with her. The memories and the associated feelings with what had happened would just take a bit longer to disappear. "And hearing you didn't make it was on equal footing with everything was fine."

Jay watched her for a moment before sighing. He reached out a hand towards her, palm up on the bed. Slipping her other hand into his, she gripped his wrist as he did hers, thumbs hooked around each other. She could feel his pulse against her fingertips, and it was somehow more reassuring than the machines that he had been attached to when he had been asleep.

"It'll take a hell lot more than some bullets to keep me from you, alright? I'm not going anywhere, not for a long time," he told her, his voice not leaving any room for argument as if he could dictate his further simply by willing it. Erin wondered briefly if he had recalled her words from early that morning, when she had soothed him back to sleep but considering he couldn't remember waking up, she put it down to pure coincidence. "I still have so many plans on how to annoy you for the rest of your life."

Raising a brow at his casual smirk, she pondered, "Is that so? Wanna clue me in on what to expect?"

"Nah, where's the fun in that?" Jay teased with a boyish grin, making her roll her eyes.

She ducked her head initially to hide her laughter, but was forced to lift it up to cover up a yawn with her hand. It hadn't hit her until then that she hadn't slept in well over 36 hours.

"Sorry," she murmured, shaking her head to push away the fog of sleep threatening to overtake her.

Jay squeezed her hand gently and gave her a soft look. "Go home and sleep, Erin. You must be exhausted."

"I can sleep perfectly fine here," she replied with a gentle smile, resting her elbow back onto the bed and resuming her previous position.

"No, you can't, and I'm in no shape to give you any massages anytime soon," he told her pointedly.

Erin shook her head again. "I'm not leaving you, Jay. And I'm not going home unless it's with you," she said adamantly, ignoring his attempt to lighten the mood which at other times would have her smartly snarking back.

"Then you're gonna need someone to swing by the apartment because I hear it could be a few days and you're gonna need more clothes," he pointed out, repeating what Doctor Rhodes had said after explaining what he had done during surgery when Jay had asked. It wasn't that he didn't trust Will and Erin, he just knew the two of them would try to sugarcoat the worst of it whilst also insisting he needed to take it easy to recuperate.

"I'll sort it out tomorrow," Erin brushed off flippantly, pursing her lips against another yawn but failing to keep it back.

"Come here," Jay finally sighed when she looked at him sheepishly, tugging at her hand. "Come up here and lay down with me. If you're not gonna head home then the least I can do is share my bed with you."

"How gallant," she chuckled, not needing to be told twice as she kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the narrow bed. Fortunately, their good sides matched, meaning she was able to curl into his side without nudging any of his injuries. "Don't let me hurt you."

"You won't, I promise. Nothing about you laying with me could ever hurt," he murmured as she laid her head on his shoulder, feeling him brush his lips over her forehead as his arm came around her to hold her to him. Erin was grateful, not just to be held close but also because she was sure she would fall off the bed if he didn't.

"Is this okay?" she asked, resting a hand on his chest just next to the gauze which covered the wound on his other shoulder.

"It's perfect," he replied and she allowed herself to relax into him, settling until she could close her eyes and almost pretend they were back at home in their own bed.

They fell into a comfortable silence; Erin focusing on the soft beating of his heart below her ear whilst she felt him play with her fingers splayed on his chest. She was sure it was enough to lull her to sleep, his gentle touch was soothing, as was simply having him there, warm and alive beneath her. However, she could practically hear the time ticking by, her eyes staying shut but her mind refusing to give her some peace.

"Talk to me about something," she finally muttered, feeling Jay pause momentarily in his touch and resting his hand upon hers before carrying on not a second later. It was clear he had thought she had fallen asleep, and she smiled to herself at his surprise.

He cleared his throat before he spoke, and when she heard amusement lining his words, Erin almost regretted asking. "You know what is at the top of my list of fun things to do?"

"Don't say it-" she warned, tilting her head back and opening her eyes to glare at him.

"You," he finished with a lopsided grin, ignoring her and her glare.

"What did I just say?" she grumbled with a huff, tucking her face into the crook of his neck to stop him from seeing the smile that threatened to break out. "Idiot."

"You told me to talk to you about something, so I did," Jay reasoned innocently, his hand trailing up her arm to where the bandages for her stitches wrapped around her bicep and then back down to her hand. "Alright, alright, how about the story of how Will use to convince me we had a long lost sister who was sent away? And told me I'd follow suit every time I did something he didn't like?"

...

Jay wasn't sure how long he had spent telling the story to Erin before he had noticed she was truly asleep, but knew it had been at least an hour since then and sleep was definitely evading him. He put it down to the fact that he had slept for a good day and hadn't done much to tire himself out since the anaesthesia had worn off completely. Even the painkillers weren't that drowsy.

Contemplating picking up Erin's phone from where it laid on the table next to the bed for some entertainment, he had just figured out how to reach out without dislodging or moving her when a familiar voice sounded from the doorway.

"I'm pretty sure that's against hospital regulations," Voight stated dryly, nodding towards Erin.

Jay froze for a moment, unsure how to tread these unfamiliar waters where his boss was _not_ shooting him an 'if-looks-could-kill', hardened glare or gruffly telling him to keep things professional, even if being hospitalised most likely counted as personal time.

"You want to tell her to move? Because you're more than welcome to tell her to move," Jay lied, not wanting her to move at all. He kept his voice quiet, not wanting to wake her up even as he unintentionally curled a hand around her hip for reasons didn't know. Probably a self-preservation method to either keep Voight from doing as he had said or hurting him. Not that either scenario was likely; they both knew what Erin was like when forced to wake up and even Hank Voight had better ways of dealing with someone than when they were recovering.

Voight smiled and took a step into the room, stopping by the foot of his bed. "How are you doing?"

"Good. I mean, apart from these holes in my body, I'm practically fine," Jay answered casually, playing off his injuries as he had been doing every time someone asked him. He wouldn't tell them about the burning hot pain each wound caused him, with the painkillers only taking the edge off. Nor about how even breathing seemed to sting a little in places he was sure shouldn't be aching.

"You weren't fine when you were bleeding out everywhere. It was a close one," Voight told him, more emotional and concerned than Jay had ever heard him talk to anyone other than Erin. It was a welcomed change, but Jay knew better than to over analyse it.

"So you _do_ care, Sarge! I knew it," he replied with his boyish smile, earning himself an eyeroll unlike which he knew Erin would give him too if she was awake.

"You literally died less than 24 hours ago in front of her; I'm here to make sure you don't do it again anytime soon," Voight retorted, all signs of his caring nature gone from his tone though Jay could still see the softness in his features.

Sobering up, Jay nodded once. "I'll be alright in a few weeks," he assured him, knowing what Erin must have gone through the previous day would have shaken up the man who had practically raised her, regardless of his feelings towards their relationship or him.

"You saved her life," Voight stated, recalling what Doctor Rhodes had told him about Jay's injuries and Erin's account of the shooting. The bullet Jay had taken to the shoulder was the perfect height to get Erin right in the head, meaning any response slower than theirs had been would probably have resulted in him losing his only remaining child.

"I would have done the same for anyone," Jay said earnestly, brushing off Voight's intense stare, under which he felt uneasy. He knew he'd have to give his statement about the events of what happened once he was better but he didn't feel like rehashing it until he had to.

"I know, kid, I know," Voight said with a smile, laying a hand on his leg and squeezing gently. Jay didn't miss the gesture, nor the nickname which he used exclusively for Erin, but knew not mention it. "Get better soon. And call me if you need anything, especially with Erin."

Quickly clearing his mind about Voight's actions, he watched as the other man looked at him expectantly, obviously having seen Jay react to his demand to call him. "Can you come by in the morning to get her to go home? She refused tonight but I don't want her to stay here all day again."

"I'll be here by 9," Voight assured him. Taking one final glance at the woman in question, he merely said goodbye before leaving.

"Was that Hank or was I dreaming?" Erin murmured not a minute later, causing Jay to bristle at the sudden words being spoken warmly into his neck without stirring.

"That was him. He just wanted to see how I was, and you," he confirmed, smiling when she moaned as she shifted to lay her head on his shoulder again. "Though I'm surprised he didn't manhandle you out of here for this," he added, pressing her close again with the hand on her waist to indicate exactly what he meant.

"Told you he liked you," Erin taunted, pulling her hand out from under his on his chest to brush back her hair from her face as she peered up at him. "Or it's because you've just been shot. Might want to be on guard once you're back to work."

"Might use _you_ as my guard," Jay retorted lightly, catching her eyes. "You dream of Voight?"

"Shut up," she groaned at his play on her earlier words, returning to her her previous position pressed against him and closing her eyes, purposefully ignoring his silent laughter as she welcomed sleep again.


	10. Finally

**Final chapter, and a big, big thank you to _justkillingtimewhileiwait_ for all of her help with this entire fic and the beta-ing. It really would not exist without her. You are awesome! :)**

* * *

It only occurred to him once he was fully recovered and back to work from the shooting that Erin hadn't disputed his want to spend the rest of their lives together. Even if he had been joking about annoying her for the most of it.

It hadn't come up again, but in true Erin fashion, Jay wasn't sure if that was because she had brushed it off or was refusing to deal with it. He had experienced the same kind of doubts when he had asked her to move in with him a year earlier, where she hadn't directly addressed that step in their relationship until he had pressed her. And when he had, he had been pleasantly surprised to find that she was at the same place as he had been.

But this? This was something he definitely wanted. And unless he was actually asking her _the_ question, it wasn't something he could ask her about. So instead he had dropped a couple of hints to try to gauge her reaction to a bigger commitment and a future together, mentioning retiring in Wisconsin again and investing in a new car because, let's face it, both of theirs had seen much better days.

Erin had smiled at the idea of Wisconsin, jibing carelessly about needing to sort out the creaking panels on the stairs, however, if she was going to stay there for more than a week. But it was her reply to the car which had given him the reassurance he had needed.

"Okay, but babe, you do realise we still have like 4 years left on paying off this place right? Unless something spectacular happens to them, why don't we just put it on the back burner until we're official homeowners?" she reasoned as they sat lazily on the couch in front of the TV, relaxing after a finishing up a tough case that had last for the better part of the past week.

Jay smiled to himself at her reply, glad she was unable to see from her position sprawled across his chest. "Yeah, I guess so. We do use the GMC more often than not these days, anyways."

"Exactly. And who knows what else might happen in the next 4 years. If there's one thing my _sabbatical_ taught me, it was that saving up for rainy days isn't the worst idea," Erin added. The subject of her relapse over two years earlier was barely ever addressed, but when it was, Jay had found that she had made her peace with it. It had been a terrible time in her life, but pretending it hadn't happened would only mean she hadn't dealt with it.

Pressing his lips to the top of her head, he muttered into her hair, "I really hope your _sabbatical_ taught you more than that, otherwise we're gonna need to have a talk." He tightened the arm around her waist to show he was just joking, laughing when she slapped him on the abdomen with a dramatically outraged gasp.

"You're lucky you're cute, you know that? 'Cause your sense of humour is nonexistent, and that's just sadly unattractive," she told him with a huff, tilting her head up to glare at him though the smile she couldn't keep back ruined the effect completely.

Jay leaned down to kiss her chastely. "Yeah, well, the joke's on you because you're the one who's stuck with me." Erin hummed noncommittally at that and he took it as a win.

Which was how he had found himself texting his boss the next free Saturday they had, asking if he could pop over for a quick visit. He had done it without thinking, knowing any second guessing would give him cold feet, or worse, doubts.

Voight had replied not 10 minutes later, telling him he had some time that morning if he made it quick. So with an excuse of seeing Will and making sure he was alright after his break up with Nina, Jay had kissed Erin goodbye and headed straight out.

Jay parked outside the Voight house like he had done many times before, turning off the engine and sitting for a minute. He had no idea why he was trying to summon up the courage to do this; he was an Army Ranger, for god's sake. He'd face fresh hell when on tour for days, and nights, straight, and got through coming back home. He'd even broken Voight's very own rule about relationships in his team, and more than that, with the woman he considered a daughter.

But really, he did know why he was so nervous. This was the step that would set everything in motion. It would be the first time he would admit to someone other than his brother, who had heard it when he had still been in New York and Jay had drunkenly replied to a text that he was going to marry his partner one day, that he wanted everything with Erin. And he wanted it soon.

Letting out a long breath, he opened the car door and got out before he could convince himself otherwise. Jogging up the porch stairs, he knocked on the door, not having to wait long until Voight appeared and invited him in.

"What can I do for you, Halstead?" he asked as he led them towards the kitchen.

"It's about Erin," Jay began, taking a seat at the table when Voight gestured for him to do so after silently asking if he wanted a coffee.

"Is she alright?" Voight pressed, sliding a cup towards him and taking the seat on the opposite side of the table.

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine," he brushed off, stalling while he sipped his drink. It wasn't the kind of liquid courage he would like, but it was good enough at 9 a.m. on a Saturday. "It's actually about Erin and I. I want to ask her to marry me, and I wanted your permission."

The sound of Voight's surprised chuckle was definitely not what Jay had expected as a response to that. "My _permission?_ "

"Yes, sir. You're her father in every way that counts, and I know you haven't always approved of our relationship, or liked me very much, but I do love her. More than anything," Jay explained earnestly, watching carefully as Voight's features slowly transformed back to his typical stoic facade.

"You think I would have let you stay in my unit if I didn't like you?" Voight asked rhetorically, arching a brow at the younger man who merely nodded, considering his words.

"I guess that answers that question," he stated lightly.

Voight shook his head almost fondly at the reply before taking them back to one of their earliest conversations. "When I told you to stay away from Erin, it was for your own benefit. And when I didn't approve of your relationship, it was because I didn't need that kind of drama in my team, and definitely not between two of my best detectives."

Unable to think of what to say to his boss basically admitting that he never had really had a problem with _him_ as a whole, Jay reverted to what he knew best and joked, "Well, I can't promise there'll never be drama with Erin around."

"Understatement of the year," Voight remarked with a small laugh.

They sat in a beat of silence, drinking their coffee whilst Jay pondered what it was the other man was considering. He hadn't thought it would take so long, if he had been honest. He would ask Voight for permission to marry Erin, and then leave with the answer, dealing with the consequences once he's out of there. Coffee and a chat definitely hadn't fitted into those plans, and he was personally glad he had told Erin he'd gone over to see Will to give him the extra time.

"Do you really think you need my permission to marry her?" Voight finally questioned, hold Jay's gaze as he did to people when he wanted to see if they were lying.

"No, but I'd like it," he replied truthfully.

An impressed look passed over Voight's face at his admission, and, if Jay was being daring, he might have said there was a hint of pride there too. "If I say no?"

"Then I'll propose anyway, but I know it'd mean a lot to her if we had your approval," he answered, before confessing, "It'd mean a lot to _me_."

Voight sighed deeply, and Jay prepared himself to hear his rejection. "She'll be pissed when she finds out, but yeah, you have my approval."

Relief flooded him instantly, a weight he had no idea he had been carrying lifting off his shoulders and chest. "Yeah?" Jay questioned to make sure he was hearing right, unable to keep the keep the grin back when he saw Voight roll his eyes good-naturedly, a smile on his face too.

"You're a good guy, Jay. One of the best I know. It'd be an honour to have you as part of the family." It was rare to hear a compliment from his boss, so Jay took it to heart and understood he truly meant every word he said.

"That is if she says yes," he muttered, realising that now he had gotten permission from Voight, the next person who could deter him would be Erin herself.

"She will," Voight replied confidently, as if he knew something Jay didn't. In truth, he probably did, and Jay knew he would never know what it was.

…

He recruited Will immediately in an effort to pick the perfect ring for Erin, only to find that his idea of helping was enough to make Jay want to bash his head in. So he got Burgess to tag along too, making them both swear a vow of silence as he took them to the one store where he had thought he had found the perfect ring.

They had agreed.

It was a solitaire diamond, princess cut on a platinum band, according to the jeweller. All Jay knew was that it was gorgeous and he didn't want to propose with any other ring but that.

However, that had been three months earlier and Jay was no closer to proposing than he had been when he had gone to see Voight. He kept telling himself that he was simply waiting for the perfect moment, that he couldn't do it on the job and that it wasn't like he could keep the ring on him all the time.

He had contemplated taking her to the cabin and proposing there, but it was already cold enough in Chicago that Jay couldn't put her through a Northern Wisconsin winter too. He wanted her to say yes, after all.

So eventually he plucked the ring out of the box and decided to start keeping the ring on him when off duty, in case the ideal moment popped up when they were strolling in the park one day, or when casually grabbing some coffee one morning. It was unlikely, but Jay was running out of ideas.

In lack of his better judgement, Jay went back to his Will for some help where the doctor had suggested a fancy dinner, to which he had shot down immediately.

"Have you _met_ Erin? She'd hate all the attention," Jay told him, stealing a beer from the fridge of his brother's new apartment.

"Then just hire the whole place out or something," Will countered with a casual shrug, to which Jay glared.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did we get transported to some Twilight Zone world where cops make enough money to do that crap?"

After that, his big brother hadn't been much of a help. Burgess had suggested the locker room, but Jay ruled out work altogether. And he was loathed to admit it but he was still scared of Voight enough to prevent him from asking him for an opinion. The last thing he wanted for the sergeant take back his approval when if he thought Jay couldn't even think of a way to propose. It wasn't a great start to married life, that was sure.

…

Having wrapped up another tough case, Jay put all of the frustration that had recently built up to the back of his mind as he focused on getting the two of them to unwind for that evening. They had grabbed some Chinese on the way home, stopping by a little bakery to indulge in some cupcakes too, and were now settled on the floor of their living room as they silently ate and watched mindless TV.

Well, it was mindless to most people, but Jay for some reason really got into the documentaries that were constantly on the educational channels. Even Erin had grown to tolerate it, especially when she was too tired to care about what was on and just wanted to eat, spend time together and relax.

Jay furrowed his brow as he concentrated on the TV, listening carefully about the aboriginal tribes of Australia and their traditional tribal tattoos. How they were worn with pride with each one having a significant meaning, usually related to a moment or an aspect of their lives.

Which, for a reason unknown to him, somehow got him thinking about the woman sat a foot away on his left, head tilted back onto the couch with her legs crossed and food forgotten on the coffee table in front of them.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but how did you never get a tattoo?" he questioned, out of the blue. Because he knew her and he knew her body, and even if he had initially missed the scar on her belly button, he knew she didn't have any ink on her skin at all.

Erin tilted her head to look at him slowly, arching a brow as a frown tugged at her lips. "I feel like you need to explain some more before I can justifiably get mad at you and eat the last cupcake."

Laughing, Jay pushed the box which had once contained three cupcakes towards her and then got about tidying up the boxes of takeout now they were done with dinner. "I mean, you know; street kid, wild child and all. You've got piercings to tell the tale."

Erin shrugged as she finally followed his train of thoughts. "Yeah, well, piercings are easy to do yourself. Tattoos, not too much. Plus they cost money and money went towards one of two things back then," she said, not having to clarify what the two things she would have spent her money on back as a young teen. Picking at the cupcake, she chewed on a large piece as her lips quirked up. "And then at Hank's, I'm pretty sure he would've tried to scrub it off with sandpaper if I ever came home with a tattoo."

"Well, if you ever consider it, I have a great idea for one," Jay told her as he sat back again, shooting her a wolfish smile which left nothing a secret as to what he was thinking.

"Lemme guess, it's one syllable and three letters long?" she replied dryly, shooting him a sarcastic grin when he chuckled.

"I'm glad we're on the same page. I mean, you could condense it to just one letter if you wanted to, it'd mean the same thing," he continued, reaching out and brushing his knuckles over her left breast, above her heart. "Right about here, I reckon."

Scoffing, Erin shoved at his shoulder to make him drop his hand. "Possessive, much?"

"You love it," he bit back immediately, loving the way she laughed and shook her head at him.

"Debatable." Patting his chest at the same place he had skimmed over her body, she threw him a dimpled smile and lowered her voice seductively. "You first, babe, and _then_ we'll talk about it."

Jay pretended to consider it, staring at her for a moment and watching as the playful glint in her eyes made them a bit lighter than normal. His own searching hers, something simply fell into place and told him that perfect moment he had been looking for was _now_ , regardless of the less than romantic conversation they were having.

"Tell you what; how about just a ring for now?" he asked softly, seriously. Amusement still shone on her features as he shifted onto his knees to allow him to reach into his pocket to retrieve the engagement ring he'd tucked there earlier.

"What?" Erin laughed in confusion, looking away for a second to placed the empty cupcake wrapper onto the table before turning back to him. She sobered up rapidly and gasped when he fell to one knee next to her instead of stretching back out again. "Whoa!"

Jay smiled warmly at her reaction, proffering the ring between his fingers to her. "I love you, Erin, and I want to spend my entire life with you. And short of a tattoo, I can't think of any more official way of showing you that except this. So, will you marry me?"

"Yes, of _course_ , I'll marry you!" she answered without hesitation. It took longer for Jay to register her reply, knowing he had heard correctly when she nodded along with her answer.

Grinning at the realisation that she really had said yes, he lifted her left hand from her lap and slid on the ring. It was a perfect fit, as he had made sure it would be, and sparkled even in the artificial lights of their living room.

When Erin let out a breathy laugh, Jay smiled up at her. He lifted her hand up to his lips and then leant in to kiss her, hoping he could portray everything he was feeling at her accepting his proposal without being able to say it. He'd never been the most articulate person in the world, but with Erin, he'd realised actions spoke much louder than words.

Breaking apart only when they were forced to for air, Jay reluctantly opened his eyes when he felt her free hand against his cheek. "I love you, too. So much," she whispered with a soft smile.

Pressing one last kiss to her lips, he sat back and smirked at her. "You're only saying that to get out of the tattoo."

"If I'd take a bullet for you, don't you think I'd get a tattoo for you?" she laughed before holding up the hand Jay still held. "But you've gone and gotten me this gorgeous ring now."

"Which I think I love the sight of more," he replied, rubbing his thumb over the band of the ring.

This time it was Erin who leaned in, lips brushing over his, unable to keep away. "Me, too."

…

Jay groaned when he felt her shift once again, instantly awaking him as she came to lay half upon him. They were both tangled up in the bedsheets, not having the energy to sort it out after celebrating their engagement for many, _many_ hours before having succumbed to sleep.

Or least he had. Erin, on the other hand, somehow still had the energy to move around whereas all he could do was stroke his hand up and down her bare back soothingly.

"Go to sleep," he muttered, not bothering to open his eyes in hopes sleep would take him instantly once again. He had never been happier to have the next day off.

" _You_ go to sleep," she shot back lamely.

"I'm trying but someone keeps sighing, and turning, and _touching_ ," Jay told her, cracking open an eye and watching as she bit her bottom lip guiltily, yet not stopping in her actions.

The heel of her left hand pressed gently against his shoulder as she took in the diamond ring that newly adorned her finger. He knew she wasn't a big fan of jewellery, but his ego was definitely enjoying the way she couldn't keep her eyes off the ring.

"I'm happy. Deal with it," Erin commented as she curled her hand around his shoulder and used it as leverage to push herself up so she could hover over him.

Now wide awake, he arched a brow and smirked boyishly. "Oh, I did deal with it. Multiple times if I remember correctly," he said, brushing back her tousled hair and keeping his hand on her neck as she dipped down to kiss him. He pressed her closer to him with his other hand still on her back, looking into her bright eyes when she pulled away. "You're really so happy you can't sleep?"

"And excited. But yeah," she admitted, kissing him once more. She laid back down on his chest, peering up at him and carrying on their conversation before he could even process her words and how they elated him. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Proposing? A while now. Actually deciding it's time? About a month or two." Her surprised look told him that that was definitely not the answer she had been expecting.

"You've had the ring for that long?" He nodded, causing her to laugh dryly and rest her head on his shoulder. "Wow, I'm a terrible detective."

Jay chuckled at her dejected tone, hugging her into his side. "Nah, I just know you. I know where you wouldn't look."

Erin sat up immediately at his reply, narrowing her eyes at him and pointing an accusing finger. "I swear, if you say it was the cupboard under the sink with all the cleaning products, this will be the shortest engagement known to man."

"I would never!" he exclaimed, amusement lining his words as he tugged her back down again. "But if it had been, you wouldn't have known, right?"

"Go to sleep, Jay," she all but grumbled, finally settling in for the night to allow them both to sleep.

...

True to Voight's words, Erin had been pissed when she had found out that Jay had asked him for approval before proposing. It hadn't lasted long, not when Jay clarified that his answer wouldn't have deterred him but Voight giving him the green light only gave him the confidence that she would say yes.

After that, it was a bit difficult for her to stay mad at him, knowing how hard he had taken it when he had thought that Voight would think he wasn't good enough for her.

"I can't believe you actually had the guts to ask Hank for permission to marry me," Erin teased once they had managed to tear themselves apart and get out of bed and the shower to have some breakfast.

"What can I say? I'm a traditionalist," Jay remarked, throwing her his winning smile over his shoulder as he prepared their food whilst she sat at the table with the coffee ready.

Erin scoffed incredulously, pulling a foot onto her chair and resting her chin on her knee. "Yeah, okay; the Irish, Catholic-schooled boy who's been living in sin for the past year is a traditionalist."

"Not for much longer," he reminded her, looking pointedly at her left hand as he pushed a plate with buttered toast towards her and took the seat opposite. "And I know that despite stating otherwise on numerous occasions, Voight is, for all intent and purpose, your father and you do care about what he thinks. And if nothing else, he deserved it for me to ask him first."

Jay took a bite out of his breakfast as he watched her mull his words over, a soft smile pulling at her lips as she sipped her steaming coffee. She nodded concedingly at him, accepting what he had said as reason enough for doing what he did.

"I still can't believe you had the guts to ask him, in the privacy of his own home, with no backup or a weapon. I mean, he very literally could have killed you," she pointed out, far too lightheartedly for his liking.

He shrugged nonetheless. "You're worth it."

"Aww," she gushed, scrunching her nose cutely. "I guess you really have won him over, huh?"

Tilting his head slightly, he considered the conversation he and Voight had had went he had gone over to ask for permission to marry Erin. "Yeah, seems like it."

…

The first stop they made after breakfast was to see Voight. It was both out of courtesy and Erin unable to keep it to herself for another day. They figured making the announcement in person was the least he deserved, and it was little out of their way for the domestic duties they needed to fulfil afterwards.

Turned out, when it came to the sergeant in charge of the Intelligence unit, there was no real need for an announcement. Voight spotted the ring the moment he answered the door to the rather enthusiastic couple on his doorstep.

"You finally did it, huh? I beginning to think you had chickened out," Voight laughed after leading them into the front room, patting Jay on the back as he spoke.

"How long was a while, Jay?" Erin probed, recalling his words from the previous night when she had asked how long he had been planning on proposing for.

Shrugging, he brushed off her question. "A few months. It's all irrelevant now."

"Uh-huh," she replied, evidently finding it amusing and knowing he was lying.

Turning back to Voight, she lifted her hand when he gestured for her to let him see. He gave the ring a quick glance before turning his attention back to his pseudo-daughter's happy features. "Looks beautiful."

"Thanks," Jay and Erin replied at the same time, giving each other incredulous looks when they realised what the other had said.

"I chose it," Jay defended himself, grinning smugly when she rolled her eyes and backed down.

"Congratulations, kiddo. You picked a good one," he told her with a brief hug, turning her towards him when he pulled back. His eyes flickered over her shoulder to the man in question before adding, "But you tell me if anything changes, alright? A ring is just a ring sometimes."

Groaning at his overprotective nature, Erin slipped out of the light grip he had on her shoulder and walked to Jay's side. "Gee, thanks, Hank. Way to ruin it."

"Just making sure you know," Voight stated coolly before holding out a hand towards the other man. "Jay, welcome to the family."

"I'm glad to be a part of it," he replied honestly, shaking his hand.

It was brief and casual, but Jay knew the meaning behind the gesture was far greater than could be explained. Voight chose his own family, both at work and at home. He chose who to keep close out of love and who to keep close out of paranoia.

Jay had no doubts that once upon a time, he would have gone straight into the second column. But not anymore. And whether it was because he managed to win Voight over like he had vowed to, or because Voight had given him a chance based on who he was as a person, Jay realised he didn't really care anymore. Not as long as the jibes the sergeant would continue to taunt him with were his way of showing the little affection Jay was sure the older man now held for him.

"Finally," Erin murmured from next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Jay smiled down at her and brushed his lips against her forehead. "Finally."


End file.
